Passengers thankful to be safe after Delta plane catches on fire
NEWS. NOW GRATEFUL TO BE ALIVE IS THE MESSENGERS. PASSENGERS ARE TELLING US AFTER THEY HAD TO EVACUATE. WESH TWO SPENCER TRACY CONTINUES OUR LIVE TEAM COVERAGE NOW. SPENCER, YOU SPOKE WITH ONE OF THE PASSENGERS ON BOARD. WHAT DID SHE SAY WAS GOING THROUGH HER MIND? YEAH, CHANNING WELLS TELLS ME THAT COMPLETE PANIC STRUCK THE WHOLE ENTIRE PLANE. SHE SAYS FROM SEEING THE SMOKE AND FLAMES OUTSIDE HER WINDOW TO WHEN FLIGHT ATTENDANTS TOLD EVERYONE TO GET OFF THE PLANE IMMEDIATELY. WELL, YOU TAKE YOUR TIME. WENDY. BOARDING FROM INSIDE A DELTA PLANE. CHANNING WELLS WAS ONE OF 282 PASSENGERS ON BOARD. SHE SAYS NOT ONLY COULD SHE SEE SMOKE FROM THE WINDOWS, BUT SHE COULD SMELL IT. YOU COULD SEE PASSENGERS THAT WAS IN FRONT OF THE AREA JUMP UP OUT OF THEIR SEATS, AND THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT WENT BY THE DOOR TO CHECK AND SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON. WELLS SAYS THE PLANE WAS TAXIING AND WAS ABOUT TO TAKE OFF. IMMEDIATELY RIGHT AFTER SHE WAS YELLING, SCREAMING, EVERYONE GET OFF THE PLANE! GET OFF THE PLANE! DON’T TAKE ANYTHING WITH YOU. GET OFF THE PLANE! THAT’S WHEN WELLS SAYS SHE WENT INTO FLIGHT OR FIGHT MODE AND IMMEDIATELY PANIC STRUCK THE ENTIRE PLANE. WELLS SAYS IT WAS A COMPLETELY FULL PLANE, AND IT WASN’T EASY TO GET OFF RIGHT AWAY. THERE WERE PASSENGERS TRYING TO GET THEIR LUGGAGE OFF, AND THE BACK ROW EXIT DIDN’T DIDN’T WORK FOR US TO JUMP OFF THE PLANE. SO THAT WAS THAT’S ONE OF THE THINGS WHERE I’M LIKE, I’M BLESSED. I DON’T EVEN WANT TO THINK ABOUT WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED. FLIGHT ATTENDANTS, PLEASE DO A HAND OFF BETWEEN THE FIRE FIGHTERS AND YOURSELVES AS PASSENGERS DEPLANE AT THE REAR OF THE AIRCRAFT. MY MIND. I WAS LIKE, MOM, WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN? ARE WE GOING TO DIE? IT’S LIKE, WE ARE NOT. WE ARE NOT GOING TO CLAIM THAT WE’RE GOING TO BE FINE. I WAS LIKE, LEAVE YOUR BACKPACK. WELLS SAYS SHE’S JUST GRATEFUL EVERYONE WAS ABLE TO GET OFF SAFELY. AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ARE BLESSED. I JUST COUNT MY BLESSINGS. SHE SAYS THAT IS THE MESSAGE FELT AMONG PASSENGERS ON THAT FLIGHT. SHE SAYS SHE ALSO WANTS TO CREDIT THE QUICK RESPONSE FROM THOSE FLIGHT ATTENDANTS, AS WELL AS THE PILOT. AND SHE ALSO SAID THAT SHE’S HEADING BACK TONIGHT TO ATLANTA. AND SHE SAYS OTHER PASSENGERS WERE ABLE TO GET FLIGHTS REFUNDED OR ON OTHER CONNECTING FLIGHTS. I’M COVERING ORANGE COUNTY. LI
Passengers thankful to be safe after Delta plane catches on fire
Updated: 6:23 PM EDT Apr 21, 2025
On Monday, complete panic kicked in on a Delta plane at Orlando International Airport heading to Atlanta. Airport officials say the engine caught fire. All of the passengers were removed via slides through the emergency exits. Channing Wells was one of 282 passengers on board. She was traveling with her son and her mom back home after a spring break trip. She said not only could she see the smoke through window, but she could also smell it. “You could see orange, and the passengers who were in front of that exit jumped up out of their seats. That’s when the flight attendant went by the door to check what was going on,” she said. Wells said just before the fire, the plane was getting ready for takeoff. “Immediately right after, the flight attendants were yelling and screaming for everyone to get off the plane. They yelled, ‘Don’t take anything, get off the plane,'” Wells said. Wells said the flight was full and filled with young children. She said it was not easy to get off the plane right away. “There were people trying to get their luggage off, and the back slide exit didn’t work where we could jump off the plane. So that’s why one of the reasons I’m blessed, I don’t want to think about what could have happened,” she said. Wells said she went into fight-or-flight mode. “My son, who is 9 years old, was like, ‘What is going to happen? Are we going to die?’ I told him, ‘No, we are going to be fine, just leave your stuff.'” Wells said she is just grateful everyone was able to get off safely. “At the end of the day, we are blessed. I am just counting my blessings,” Wells said. Wells said her family is flying out later in the day on another Delta flight. She said other passengers were connected to other flights or requested refunds.
ORLANDO, Fla. —On Monday, complete panic kicked in on a Delta plane at Orlando International Airport heading to Atlanta.
Airport officials say the engine caught fire. All of the passengers were removed via slides through the emergency exits.
Channing Wells was one of 282 passengers on board. She was traveling with her son and her mom back home after a spring break trip.
She said not only could she see the smoke through window, but she could also smell it.
“You could see orange, and the passengers who were in front of that exit jumped up out of their seats. That’s when the flight attendant went by the door to check what was going on,” she said.
Wells said just before the fire, the plane was getting ready for takeoff.
“Immediately right after, the flight attendants were yelling and screaming for everyone to get off the plane. They yelled, ‘Don’t take anything, get off the plane,'” Wells said.
Wells said the flight was full and filled with young children. She said it was not easy to get off the plane right away.
“There were people trying to get their luggage off, and the back slide exit didn’t work where we could jump off the plane. So that’s why one of the reasons I’m blessed, I don’t want to think about what could have happened,” she said.
Wells said she went into fight-or-flight mode.
“My son, who is 9 years old, was like, ‘What is going to happen? Are we going to die?’ I told him, ‘No, we are going to be fine, just leave your stuff.'”
Wells said she is just grateful everyone was able to get off safely.
“At the end of the day, we are blessed. I am just counting my blessings,” Wells said.
Wells said her family is flying out later in the day on another Delta flight.
She said other passengers were connected to other flights or requested refunds.
