'I Thought I Was Going to Die': Plane Catches Fire in Miami

A flight from the Dominican Republic landed at Miami International Airport Tuesday night, then caught fire. After Red Air Flight 203 from Santo Domingo landed around 5:30pm, the landing gear in the nose of the MD-82 aircraft collapsed. That appears to be what started the blaze, NBC Miami reports. The fire was quickly put out, and of the 126 passengers, three were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries. The NTSB will investigate the incident.

The Miami Herald describes Red Air as a new discount airline from the Dominican Republic. The plane skidded after the landing gear malfunctioned, hitting several things including a crane tower before coming to a stop in a grassy area off the runway, 7 News reports. "When our fire crews arrived they saw the wing of the aircraft was on fire. they quickly began working on putting out the fire utilizing specialized foam trucks,” a Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue spokesperson says. “All passengers were off the aircraft." Video from the scene shows passengers walking away from the plane.

"People were very frightened,” says one passenger. “People were grabbing the seats to keep from spinning around." Says another, "I thought I was going to die." But ultimately no one was hurt badly, prompting the Miami-Dade County mayor to say, "What happened here is a miracle." (More Miami International Airport stories.)