American Air Plane Catches Fire During Take Off; 20 Injured

(RTTNews) - Twenty passengers and one flight attendant were injured in an incident of Friday at the Chicago O'Hare International airport, when an American Airlines plane bound for Miami caught fire while attempting take-off.

The injuries were 'non-critical' and those injured were shifted to Chicago-area hospitals for further evaluation, the American Airlines said in a statement on the company website.

Pilots aborted take-off after the right-side engine of the Boeing-767 American Airlines Flight 383 caught fire on the runway, which the airline company attributed to an engine-related issue. Meanwhile, the Federal Aviation Administration blamed the problem on a blown tire.

Following the incident at 2.35 pm local time, an emergency rescue operation took place and the 161 passengers and 9 crew members were evacuated safely using a chute within a few minutes. The fire was also brought under control swiftly.

The FAA is investigating the incident.