There are continued concerns about the state of the American aviation industry, as a plane has burst into flames at Denver International Airport and forced passengers to evacuate by standing on the wings.
Ever since President Donald Trump took to power on January 20, there's been a worrying uptick in aviation disasters. As well as 67 perishing when an American Airlines flight collided with a Black Hawk helicopter, there was the disappearance and crash of Bering Air Flight 445, and Delta Connection Flight 4819 landing upside down in Toronto. While there were thankfully no casualties during the Delta crash, that hasn't stopped the POTUS from facing a barrage of critiques. Although some are pointing toward the recent DOGE cuts, the President himself has blamed DEI hires at air traffic control for the spate of accidents.
Barely a week goes by without some sort of plane incident, and now, footage has captured the moment when passengers had to step out onto the wings of a Boeing 737-800 as the Texas-bound plane was seen in flames.
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American Airlines flight 1006 had been traveling from Colorado Springs to Dallas Fort Worth when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it received reports of 'engine vibrations' from the crew.
Although the plane was safely diverted to Denver International Airport at around 5:15 pm local time, viral posts on social media show smoke and flames billowing from one of the engines as some of the 172 passengers and six crew stand on one of its wings.
Denver International took to social media to confirm that while everyone was evacuated, 12 people were taken to hospital to be treated for 'minor' injuries.
Flight-tracking information confirms the plane involved was 13 years old, with the FAA now expected to launch a full investigation.
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Responding to the footage, one concerned person wrote: "Wow, who would have thought that cutting funding for air traffic control and laying off safety inspectors could lead to problems? What a shocking development!"
Another added: "How many red flags is this? What in the world of airplanes is going on in 2025!"
A third pointed the blame in one direction and concluded: "Donald Tump laid off thousands of aviation workers and now we have the worst aviation industry in American history…"
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A Denver International Airport spokesperson confirmed the fire had been successfully extinguished and normal flight service had resumed: "We thank our crew members, DEN [the airport] team and first responders for their quick and decisive action with the safety of everyone on board and on the ground as the priority."
Following the crash of a small plane near a Pennsylvania retirement village on March 10, one reporter asked President Trump whether Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy had 'legitimate concern' about 400 Federal Aviation Administration workers being laid off in February.
The POTUS maintains that the crashes have 'nothing' to do with the layoffs and explained: "That was a small plane and that would have happened whether he had a big department or a small department, as you understand.
"It’s just they have spates like this, you know, they have times when things happen a little bit more often than normal, and then it goes back, and you go many years without having a problem."
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Even though it might all be an unfortunate coincidence, the fact that it feels like there are more aviation incidents than ever before means that fingers are going to keep being pointed.