An airplane reportedly caught fire on Monday just minutes before it was set to take off from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, bound for Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
Traveler Ivan Paloalto captured footage purporting to show the fire incident. The footage showed smoke billowing from the wing of the aircraft as it sat on an aircraft runway.
“I felt the impact on my window. As I looked, the engine was on fire and smoke was coming out,” Paloalto told ABC 7 News in Chicago.
Fox News reported the fire disrupted United Airlines Flight 2091, an Airbus 320 model aircraft. The flight was initially set to take off around 2 p.m. (Central Time) when the fire broke out.
United Airlines told Fox News the airplane was towed back to its gate and that passengers were able to safely disembark. The plane was carrying 148 passengers and five crew members.
The airline company told Fox News it was working to provide alternate travel arrangements for the impacted passengers.
READ MORE: Video: Plane has mid-flight mechanical failure; makes emergency landing
Flight data indicates the aircraft was eventually able to take off several hours later.
FlightStats, a website providing real-time flight status details, initially reported that United Airlines Flight 2091 was diverted, and then that the flight actually left the O’Hare International Airport at around 6:40 p.m. (Central Time) and arrived in Seattle at 9:40 p.m. (Pacific Time), five and half hours later than originally planned.
In addition to United Airlines Flight 2091’s delays, the Federal Aviation Administration told Fox News that the fire on the airport tarmac forced delayed flights arriving at the O’Hare International Airport on Monday.
The incident at the O’Hare International Airport came on the same day the John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York reportedly ordered a ground stop, delaying flights.
