Moments of fear at the “Jorge Chávez” international airport in Lima, Peru, where a Latam company plane caught fire on the runway shortly before take-off, triggering panic on board and in the airport. The fire started in the left engine and then quickly spread to the wing of the aircraft, just as it was preparing to take off for Piura.
The flames before takeoff
The passengers and crew of flight LA2302 were immediately evacuated safely and, fortunately, no injuries were reported. The firefighters of the Peruvian airport intervened promptly, managing to tame and put out the flames in a few minutes.
Videos circulating on social media show a thick blanket of smoke rising from the plane’s left wing moments before the fire became visible. A passenger, interviewed by the local broadcaster ATV, spoke of the moments of terror experienced on board: “The pilot had announced that we were ready to take off and the engines were already accelerating, when suddenly the fire broke out”. Immediately afterwards, the commander informed the people on board of the immediate interruption of the maneuver due to an anomaly in the left landing gear.
“Technical accident”
The airline dismissed the incident as an “unforeseen technical incident”. A Latam spokesperson confirmed that the aircraft will undergo a full technical inspection to determine the precise causes of the failure, adding that the company provided immediate assistance to the affected travellers, rescheduling them on alternative flights. In the meantime, the airport authorities have opened a formal investigation to shed full light on the dynamics.