Accident: Allegiant MD83 near Flagstaff on Jul 25th 2010, engine fire indication [UPDATE]

26.07.2010 - 11:20

N880GA shortly after landing(Photo: NAZ Today)An Allegiant Air McDonnell Douglas MD-83, registration N880GA performing flight G4-645 from Billings,MT to Mesa,AZ (USA) with 144 passengers and 6 crew, was enroute at FL260 about 65nm northeast of Flagstaff,AZ when the crew received a fire indication for the right hand engine (JT8D), shut the engine down, activated the fire suppression system and decided to divert to Flagstaff. The airplane landed safely on Flagstaff s runway 21 about 15 minutes later, stopped on the runway and was evacuated via slides. The FAA reported, that it is not clear whether there was an engine fire or not. Initial reports suggest 7 passengers received minor injuries (scratches, bruises) during the evacuation. The airplane remained on the runway effectively closing Flagstaff airport due to lack of a proper tow bar, which was flown in from Phoenix. The FAA and NTSB are investigating. The airline reported no injuries occurred. Flagstaff police reported, 3 people have been taken to a local hospital following the evacuation. Passengers reported, that they began to hear unusual sounds when the airplane was still enroute at FL330 about 20 minutes before the airplane began to divert to Flagstaff. After the evacuation the captain explained that they had an engine fire enroute and needed to shut the engine down. N880GA on the runway (Photo: Brandon Neuman/NAZ Today): Emergency over, watch the now open engine access doors (Photo: Brandon Neuman/NAZ Today): Map (Graphics: AVH/Google Earth): Read the article at http://avherald.com/h?articleBeca246 Modify your subscription at http://avherald.com/h?login