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

Ryan Ewing
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Ryan Ewing

British Airways 777 G-VIIO (Photo provided by Aero Icarus from Zürich, Switzerland [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)
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Key Takeaways:

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.

 

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

Ryan Ewing

Ryan founded AirlineGeeks.com in February 2013 and has spent more than a decade covering the airline business. His work has been featured by CNN, WJLA, CNET, and Business Insider. His aviation experience spans airport operations, Part 135 regulatory compliance, and airline crew workforce planning, along with time behind the yoke of a Cessna 172 and interviews with airline executives. Ryan now serves as Group President of Firecrown Media’s Aviation Group. He holds a B.S. in Air Transportation Management and an MBA from Arizona State University and teaches Airline Management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

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