Passengers evacuate after American Airlines plane catches fire in Denver 

More than 170 passengers and six crew were evacuated after the engine of an American Airlines jet – outbound from Colorado Springs – caught fire on landing in Denver.

The incident unfolded on Thursday after the Boeing 737-800 aircraft diverted from its Dallas destination and landed in Denver at about 5:15pm local time (23:15 GMT) in response to reports of engine vibrations by crew on board.

“After landing safely and taxiing to the gate at Denver International Airport (DEN), American Airlines Flight 1006 experienced an engine-related issue,” the airline said in a statement.

According to the airline, all 172 passengers and six crew members safely evacuated the aircraft and were relocated to the terminal. Twelve passengers with minor injuries were reportedly taken to a local hospital for further evaluation.

Dramatic images showed passengers clambering out of emergency doors and onto the wings of the plane.

This is the second recent aviation incident involving an American Airlines aircraft.

On January 29, a midair collision between an American Airlines plane and a United States Army helicopter near Washington, DC, killed 67 people.

Last month, a Delta Air Lines regional jet flipped upside down upon landing at Canada’s Toronto Pearson International Airport in windy weather following a snowstorm, injuring 18 of the 80 people on board, though all passengers and crew members survived the incident.

Just this week, American Airlines CEO Robert Isom and Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian listed recent air crashes and weather events in the US as contributing reasons for a decline in travel demand in the country, alongside economic uncertainty.