Emergency crews responded Tuesday to a fire on a plane at Boston’s Logan International Airport.MassPort said the fire started in the tail end of a United Airlines plane that was at an airport gate. The plane had no passengers on board at the time. The plane landed at Logan at 7:36 a.m. from San Francisco, according to FlightAware. “A 737 aircraft experienced a mechanical issue while parked at a gate at Boston Logan International Airport. There were no customers or crew onboard at the time. The aircraft has been removed from service while our maintenance crews evaluate it, ” United said in a statement.Would-be passengers of United 477 to San Francisco were being re-booked on other flights, the airline said. “I see some flashes, it’s a firetruck. It’s not usual that there’s a firetruck beside the flight that I’m taking,” said passenger Maria Teresa Lim. “Then I realize it’s real and I realize the aircraft caught fire.”Lim was on her way back to Hawaii after spending time with her daughter and grandchildren in Alton Bay, New Hampshire. “I’m really thankful because it didn’t happen in mid-air, it could’ve been really bad it we got it mid-air,” she said. John Hansman, director of MIT’s Center for Air Transportation, said the fire in the APU — a small generator at the back of the plane — worried people, but in reality, it was not a big deal. “They’re basically a little generator in the back of the airplane that can be used to charge the batteries or run the electrical systems and provide cooling or heat to the airplane,” he said. Hansman said sometimes APUs will go out of service and planes can fly with an inoperative unit. “It’s not a critical part of the airplane. It’s normally shut off in flight,” he said. “Anytime there’s a fire it’s worth looking at, it makes people worried, but this is a pretty benign case,” he said. “So, I don’t think anything big here.” No injuries were reported and there are no closures at the airport due to the fire, MassPort said.
Emergency crews responded Tuesday to a fire on a plane at Boston’s Logan International Airport.
MassPort said the fire started in the tail end of a United Airlines plane that was at an airport gate. The plane had no passengers on board at the time.
The plane landed at Logan at 7:36 a.m. from San Francisco, according to FlightAware.
“A 737 aircraft experienced a mechanical issue while parked at a gate at Boston Logan International Airport. There were no customers or crew onboard at the time. The aircraft has been removed from service while our maintenance crews evaluate it, ” United said in a statement.
Would-be passengers of United 477 to San Francisco were being re-booked on other flights, the airline said.
“I see some flashes, it’s a firetruck. It’s not usual that there’s a firetruck beside the flight that I’m taking,” said passenger Maria Teresa Lim. “Then I realize it’s real and I realize the aircraft caught fire.”
Lim was on her way back to Hawaii after spending time with her daughter and grandchildren in Alton Bay, New Hampshire.
“I’m really thankful because it didn’t happen in mid-air, it could’ve been really bad it we got it mid-air,” she said.
John Hansman, director of MIT’s Center for Air Transportation, said the fire in the APU — a small generator at the back of the plane — worried people, but in reality, it was not a big deal.
“They’re basically a little generator in the back of the airplane that can be used to charge the batteries or run the electrical systems and provide cooling or heat to the airplane,” he said.
Hansman said sometimes APUs will go out of service and planes can fly with an inoperative unit.
“It’s not a critical part of the airplane. It’s normally shut off in flight,” he said.
“Anytime there’s a fire it’s worth looking at, it makes people worried, but this is a pretty benign case,” he said. “So, I don’t think anything big here.”
No injuries were reported and there are no closures at the airport due to the fire, MassPort said.