British Airways 777-200 Bound for Gatwick Catches Fire at LAS

At approximately 4:03 PM PST, a British Airways 777-200 (G-VIIO) aborted takeoff after a left engine fire at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport, according to the FAA.

The FAA reported that the fire ignited shortly before the V1 takeoff roll. Passengers evacuated via the emergency slides, however it appeared as though one slide was not deployed. As of now, only two minor injuries were reported and passengers were bused to the terminal, with no major injuries being reported.

The aircraft, G-VIIO, is a 16 year old 777-236ER. It was delivered to British Airways on January 26th, 1999 and it has two GE90 engines. While the Boeing 777 has recently become infamous for its disappearance and disasters with both Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 and flight MH370, this assumption runs contrary to the exceptional safety standards the aircraft has maintained. In its nearly twenty years of existence, the aircraft type has only had five hull-loss accidents.

Various images from the airport depict significant damage to the left engine. The social media world was quick to light up as the incident was occurring.

UPDATE 4:22 PM — Incident @LASairport involved British Airways outbound flight 2276, bound for London Gatwick. Fire has been put out.

— McCarran Airport (@LASairport) September 8, 2015

Overhead view of BA plane that aborted takeoff at McCarran because of fire. Two minor injuries. @News3LV pic.twitter.com/FwRfLtr0O5 — Tom Hawley (@TomNews3LV) September 9, 2015

Just hitting what I have experienced today seriously scary stuff#BA2276 pic.twitter.com/tUBJ57pzpP

— Dominic Worthington (@DomworthNo1) September 9, 2015

Las Vegas Nevada LV International Airport British Airways plane on fire 2 minor injuries reported pic.twitter.com/0E5tnJt23l

— russell parrish (@rgparrish1) September 8, 2015

Thank goodness everyone made it out. Even some luggage made it out. https://t.co/qYqxf2Kj0F — airlineguys (@airlineguys) September 9, 2015

This audio is from LAS Tower and is provided by LiveATC.net. 

If more information becomes available on this incident, we will update you. Please follow us on Twitter for the most up-to-date information.

• About
• Latest Posts

Follow Ryan

Ryan Ewing

Ryan founded AirlineGeeks.com back in February 2013 (actually, it was called Aviation Official, but we've changed a bit since then). From being on the yoke of a Piper Navajo, to visiting about Delta's operations center in Atlanta, Ryan has done it all. in 2016, along with American Airlines, Ryan masterminded AAviationDay at more than 10 locations around the world. The smell of jet fumes in the morning along with the countless number of passionate airline employees keep him enthralled in the industry, always seeking more. You can find him helping out travelers at Reagan National Airport near Washington, D.C. when he's not doing something for AirlineGeeks.

Follow Ryan

Latest posts by Ryan Ewing (see all)

• Celebrating Six Years of AirlineGeeks - February 10, 2019
• Aviation History Preserved: World’s First Boeing 777 Arrives at Pima Air and Space Museum - September 18, 2018
• First Look: Delta Shows Off First Airbus A220 - September 14, 2018