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The brakes on a Spirit Airlines plane caught fire after landing in Atlanta

The brakes on a Spirit Airlines aircraft overheated and caught fire after touching down in Atlanta on Sunday. A file photo of a Spirit Airlines plane is pictured.
Spirit Airlines
The brakes on a Spirit Airlines aircraft overheated and caught fire after touching down in Atlanta on Sunday. A file photo of a Spirit Airlines plane is pictured.

Passengers aboard a Spirit Airlines flight were alarmed to see smoke billowing from the belly of the plane after it touched down in Atlanta on Sunday morning.

First responders extinguished the flames that broke out after the plane's brakes overheated and caught fire at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, the Atlanta airport announced over Twitter. Nobody was injured as a result of the fire, but many passengers onboard were alarmed by the situation outside.

Videos on Twitter showed black smoke billowing from the underside of the aircraft as a small fire consumed one of the tires. Another video from inside the plane showed passengers rising from their seats to peek out the windows as the crew urged them to remain seated.

"If the pilot gives us the command to evacuate we will evacuate, but please remain seated right now and keep the aisle ways clear," the crew announced over the intercom. "If we do have to evacuate, please just leave your bags. We will let you know, please remain seated."

Once the fire was hosed off, the plane was towed to a gate where passengers safely disembarked and went on their way, according to the Atlanta Airport. The incident didn't impact any other flights or airport operations.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Dustin Jones is a reporter for NPR's digital news desk. He mainly covers breaking news, but enjoys working on long-form narrative pieces.

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The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

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