Smoke rises after an American Airlines jet blew a tire, sparking a fire and prompting the pilot to abort.
An American Airlines jet blew a tyre at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Friday, sparking a fire and prompting the pilot to abort takeoff before passengers were evacuated from the plane via emergency chute, authorities said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries.
The incident involving American Airlines Flight 383, a Boeing B767 bound for Miami, occurred at about 2:30 pm CDT, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Elizabeth Cory said.
Footage from Chicago's ABC News affiliate station, WLS-TV, showed an American Airlines jet on the ground with flames and large clouds of black smoke billowing from one side of the aircraft, which had its emergency slides deployed. Passengers milled about on the airfield watching the blaze as fire trucks poured water on the flames.
Cory said the mishap was caused by a blown tyre and that the flight crew aborted takeoff. But American Airlines said in a statement that takeoff of the jet was aborted "due to an engine-related mechanical issue."
The plane was carrying 161 passengers and a crew of nine at the time, the airline said.
The Chicago Department of Aviation issued a statement saying the city fire department responded to an aircraft fire involving American Airlines Flight 383 and that the passengers were off the plane.
The Aviation Department said there was no crash involved.
The incident forced the closure of two of the airport's runways.
No further details about the circumstances of the mishap were immediately available. The FAA said it was investigating the incident.
© Thomson Reuters 2016
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