Virgin Australia flight catches fire on runway as firefighters rush to tackle blaze

Flight VA454 was met by emergency services moments after landing

File. The Boeing 737-800 has been temporarily taken out of service (Virgin Australia)

A Virgin Australia aircraft caught fire moments after landing in Brisbane on Thursday evening.

Flight VA454 from Darwin to Brisbane Airport was met by emergency services after its brake system caught alight at around 7pm.

Several airport firefighter crews were deployed to extinguish the Boeing 737-800 blaze.

Video footage shows fire engines spraying the smoking aircraft with water.

None of the 178 passengers and crew on board reported injuries following the incident.

A spokesperson for Virgin Australia said: “Airport firefighters responded to a brake fire on flight VA454, which occurred after landing at Brisbane Airport last night (Thursday).

“The fire was quickly extinguished, and all guests and crew disembarked normally and safely. We thank our crew and airport firefighters for their swift response.

“The safety of our guests and crew is always our highest priority.”

According to the airline, the fire did not cause any knock-on delays at Brisbane Airport.

Engineers are now inspecting the aircraft to determine the cause of the fire before it is returned to service.

In May, an investigation found that a British Airways plane had caught fire after a pilot mixed up his left and right hands.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze on the Boeing 777 jet’s brakes on the runway at Gatwick Airport, West Sussex, a report by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said.

The incident on 28 June last year caused the airport – the second busiest in the UK – to be closed for 50 minutes.

During takeoff, the co-pilot of the plane “unintentionally” pulled his left hand back on the thrust lever – reducing the power output – when he should have taken his hand away, investigators said.

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