Plane Engine Explodes at Fort Lauderdale International Airport: Could It Have Been Prevented?

A call came over the radio as a Boeing 767 prepared to take off. Over the airwaves, the pilot of the plane behind the Dynamic Airways 767 announced, “Hey, Dynamic, the left engine looks like it’s leaking, I don’t know, a lot of fuel. There is fluid leaking out of the left engine.” Seconds later, that plane engine exploded at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Did The Passengers Make It Out?

Pilots reported the engine fire at 12:34 pm and the plane was evacuated by 12:37 pm. Authorities told the press that 15 people were transported to Broward Health Medical Center. Three were reported as sustaining serious injuries—reports claimed that one victim was seriously burned—while the remaining 12 sustained mostly bumps and bruises. An investigation is under way, but experts are speaking out about the suspicious circumstances of the fire.

Why Did The Plane Engine Explode?

The 767 in question was built in 1986 and is one of only seven such aircraft still in service after 65 of them were built. Experts are wondering if this plane was too old to fly, but that isn’t their only concern. One expert told News 4 JAX that the explosion may have been caused by “[p]ossibly improper maintenance, corrosion of fuel lines, something on the engine breaks… it doesn’t take much for fuel to come out if there’s a break in the fuel source.”

Colson Hicks Eidson — Personal Injury Attorneys