Hawaiian Airlines plane engine spurts fire on Seattle tarmac

Several people in Seattle witnessed a surprising sight on Tuesday night as a plane’s engine caught fire after landing at the city’s major airport.

Video was posted on social media outlets showing flames shooting out of what was later confirmed to be the left engine of a Hawaiian Airlines plane.

Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) spokesperson Mark Snider told Global News that at about 9 p.m. PT the Airbus A330 was landing when air traffic control “noticed the left engine was on fire so they contacted the pilots.”

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He said it was a ferry flight — meaning it carried only crew, not passengers — and was landing for maintenance. The plane had come from Paine Field airport in Washington.

Hawaiian Airlines told Global News in a statement that the airplane “experienced a left engine issue on final approach at SEA last night.”

“A left engine fire reported upon landing was extinguished by the aircraft fire extinguishing system and local fire officials,” the statement reads.

None of the crew aboard was injured, according to the airline.

People both inside and outside the terminal tweeted their surprise on social media.

“Not something you see everyday @SeaTacAirport. Looks like an apparent engine caught fire,” tweeted Garth Dip Lip.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Not something you see everyday @SeaTacAirport. Looks like an apparent engine caught fire," tweeted Garth Dip Lip.

Cheryl Mander was on her own flight when she saw the repeated bursts of flames while waiting to taxi to her gate.

“A plane just landed with what appears to be an engine fire,” Mander wrote. “It went out on its own before fire trucks arrived.”

Snider said the plane has since been towed to a hanger for further investigation.