The airport was temporarily closed but has since reopened

Dynamic Airways is a small air service founded in 2010. The company is based in Greensboro, North Carolina

Broward County fire officials say 20 people were hurt and taken to the hospital, with one person seriously burned

The Caracas, Venezuela-bound plane was taxiing when the left engine caught fire,


A plane caught fire at the Fort Lauderdale, Florida airport on Thursday, sending passengers fleeing for their lives out of the aircraft's emergency slides.

Photos and video from the scene show the Dynamic Airways plane engulfed in thick black flames around 12:30pm before airport firefighters came and extinguished the fire with a white foam. The fire has since been completely extinguished and everyone safely taken off the plane.

Twenty people were injured and taken to the hospital, including a child. One person suffered serious - though not life threatening - burns while the rest had minor injuries. The uninjured were placed on buses and taken back to a terminal.

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A Boeing 767 plane caught fire on the tarmac at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on Thursday

There were 101 people on board at the time. 20 were taken to the hospital for treatment

The fire appears to have been started by a fuel leak in the left engine. The fire started as the plane was taxiing for take off

'I'm told one of the engines caught fire as the plane was taxiing, getting ready for departure,' airport spokesperson Greg Meyer told WSVN.

A pilot taxiing behind the plane alerted air traffic control that the plane was leaking fuel right before it caught fire.

'There's fuel leaking out of the left engine,' an air traffic controller says.

'Engine's on fire! Engine's on fire!' he says moments later.

The plane was on its way to Caracas, Venezuela, and charring on the aircraft suggests the fire started in the left engine.

Local 10 reports that 101 people were on the plane, which can hold up to 250.

'I was the second passenger leaving the aircraft,' Andres Gallegos told the Miami Herald.

'We spent probably 30 to 40 seconds before they opened the door. It was pretty nerve-racking to know the door wasn’t opening and something was on fire.'

Firefighters at the airport were able to quickly put out the flames as the passengers and crew escaped out of the passenger slides

The plane was on its way to Caracas, Venezuela. Dynamic Airways is a small airline that operates out of Greensboro, North Carolina

Authorities say the most serious injury was a burn. Two other had less serious injuries and the rest of the injuries were categorized as minor

Following the fire, the airport temporarily closed but is now open again.

The FAA released a statement saying: 'Dynamic International Airways 405 apparently caught fire on Taxiway B while taxiing for departure from Runway 28 Right at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, at about 12:45 p.m. An aircraft taxiing behind the Boeing 767 reported that fuel was leaking from the aircraft before the fire started. Passengers evacuated via slides onto the taxiway.'

The National Transportation Safety Board confirmed they are sending a four-person team to investigate the fire.

Following the fire, the airport was closed down and flights diverted to other regional airports. The airport is expected to reopen after 6pm

The National Transportation Security Board is sending a four-person team to Fort Lauderdale to investigate the fire

Airport firefighters put out the flames with a white foam flame retardant before moving in to the investigate

Dynamic Airways is a small airline founded in 2010. The company is based in Greensboro, North Carolina and connects New York, Fort Lauderdale, Venezuela and Guyana. They just announced their daily flights to Venezuela in June. Thursday's incident appears to be their first accident.

The plane that caught fire on Thursday was built in 1986 and is one of the oldest versions of the 767 model.

Florida is the state with the largest population of Venezuelan ex-patriots.

A similar fire broke out last month at the Las Vegas airport, when a British Airways Boeing 777 plane's left engine became engulfed in flames.

In that case, everyone on board escaped with just a few succumbing minor injuries - mostly for injuries sustained escaping on the plane's slides.