British Airways captain and crew praised for response to Vegas fire

Engine of Boeing 777-200 burst into flames forcing passengers and crew to evacuate

Eyewitness footage captures the fire on a British Airways plane, that left seven injured, at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Video: Jake Counselbaum

The captain and crew of a London-bound British Airways plane have been praised for their "textbook" response to an engine fire at a Las Vegas airport.

The left engine of the Boeing 777-200 burst into flames at McCarran International Airport, forcing 157 passengers, 10 crew and three pilots to evacuate through emergency slides.

Fire officials said at least 14 people were taken to hospital with minor injuries, mostly caused by them sliding down the inflatable chutes to escape.

The captain was named as Chris Henkey, from Reading, Berkshire, who has over four decades of flying experience with BA.

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The airport released a statement which said it was first alerted to the emergency at 4.13pm local time (12.13am BST) and within five minutes everyone was off the plane and the blaze was extinguished. – PA