BA plane that burst into flames in Las Vegas was accelerating for takeoff

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The damaged British Airways Boeing 777-200 sits at McCarran International Airport after an engine caught fire before takeoff. Photo: AP

Published: 3:00pm, 10 Sep 2015Updated: 10:59pm, 10 Sep 2015

Officials released more details on a dramatic British Airways airplane fire in Las Vegas as they investigate how an aircraft accelerating for takeoff could suddenly erupt into flames — or whether it could happen again.

The London-bound plane was speeding down the runway Tuesday afternoon when it caught fire, forcing the pilot to hit the brakes. The blaze sent smoke pouring from an engine and led the aircraft’s crew and 157 passengers to flee down emergency slides, which fire officials said deployed properly.

At a news conference on Wednesday, officials lauded the emergency response but noted more people were hurt than previously reported. Twenty-seven people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, most with cuts, bruises, burns and scrapes from the evacuation slides. At least two complained of smoke inhalation.

The evacuation took only minutes and appeared orderly, with some passengers even making it out with their luggage. They then hurried across the tarmac as flames leaped from the Boeing 777-200 and dark black smoke billowed.

The radio call from the plane’s pilot to the air traffic control tower was brief, calm and to the point.

The pilot can be heard saying “mayday, mayday” before he asks for firefighting help. A moment later, he calmly tells the tower: “We are evacuating on the runway. We have a fire. I repeat. We are evacuating.”