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A Spirit Airlines plane caught fire after a bird struck one of its engines shortly before takeoff.
Saturday’s incident happened at Atlantic City International Airport as Flight 3044 was preparing to fly to Fort Lauderdale.
In a statement to Insider, an airline spokesperson said the plane stopped before leaving the ground after a “large bird entered one of the plane’s engines.”
The plane was brought to a standstill and safely evacuated a total of 102 passengers and seven crew, Fox29 Philadelphia reported. Two people were slightly injured, officials said.
“The captain safely braked and brought the aircraft to a stop, received an indication of engine damage and ordered an evacuation in accordance with our standard procedures,” the company said.
“Our guests will receive a full refund, a future travel voucher and the option to fly to Fort Lauderdale on another plane tonight,” he added.
In a tweet, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy noted: “We are closely following a plane incident which occurred this evening in @ACYAirport. “
The airport remained closed hours after the fire as officials from the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board investigated the incident.
This is not the first time that a plane catches fire this year. In February, a United Airlines plane was filmed hovering in the sky with an engine on fire, despite landing safely at a Denver airport, Insider’s Michelle Mark reported.
In this incident, the Boeing 777-200 plane dropped debris in several neighborhoods in Colorado, including a huge piece of metal that narrowly missed someone’s house.
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