RUNWAY HORROR
Plane catches FIRE in Miami with shock pics of charred aircraft after crash landing at airport left ‘three hurt’
DRAMATIC pictures show a plane on fire after it crash-landed at Miami airport.
Three people were injured in the accident that happened around 5:30pm on Tuesday.
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The Red Air jet, which was coming in from the , was carrying 126 passengers and 11 crew members.
Its landing gear collapsed on the runway, causing the plane to catch fire.
Shocking pictures show thick black smoke billowing from the jet.
Three people suffered minor injuries and were taken to hospital.
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reported that a radar tower was wiped out by the aircraft, along with a sma building in the area.
Wild shared on social media showed the plane skid along the runway before flames and the big plume of smoke emerged.
Miami-Dade County mayor Daniella Levine Cava said the plane's landing apparatus was "destroyed" in the impact of the crash.
Fire crews were on the scene dousing the plane in foam to help put the blaze out.
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Some feared for their lives as the crash occurred.
Passenger Paola Garcia told CBS Miami: "I thought I was going to die, actually.
"There was an old man next to me and I was hugging him. It was horrible.
"We were bumping from side to side and all the windows like break and then everything's fine.
"Then the people start running and running and I like jump and start running because there was fire and all that."
Another passenger, Balo Delgado, told the outlet he was scared before feeling reassured when fire crews arrived on the scene.
'THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO DIE'
He said: "Panic, almost panic. It was a terrible experience, actually, but like I said I feel safe.
"It happened like one minute and then you could see all the officers through the window doing their jobs."
Edgar Rincon said his sister had suffered a minor injury in the accident.
He told CBS: "he was very nervous. She got hit in the knee. It’s not broken, but she got an injury in the knee."
He said that she lost her shoes as she evacuated the aircraft.
Aviation expert Scott Harrington told the outlet that it was a "miracle" there weren't any additional casualties.
He said: "Absolutely, it seemed like... again I’m not exactly sure of the specifics of this flight... but it seemed like the pilots did a good job to keep it all in one piece."
Red Air flight 203 had departed Las Américas International Airport in the Dominican Republic earlier in the day.
The National Transportation Safety Board will now investigate what led up to the fiery incident.
"NTSB is sending a team of investigators to Miami following today's gear collapse and runway excursion of an MD-82 jetliner at Miami International Airport," the agency said in a statement.
Investigators are expected to arrive on the scene on Wednesday.
The incident caused delays at Miami International Airport on Tuesday evening.
Red Air was recognized internationally as a regular airline when it received its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in 2021.
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It began commercial and regular passenger operations in November 2021.
The airline follows the rules and regulations of the Dominican Republic.
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