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Viral video shows passengers fleeing burning Red Air plane after terrifying Miami crash

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue posted on Twitter on Tuesday that 'fire crews have placed the fire under control and are mitigating fuel spillage'

A landing gear failure on a Red Air flight from the Dominican Republic caused a plane carrying 126 passengers to slide over runway nine at Miami International Airport shortly before 5:40 pm on Tuesday, June 21. The arriving flight from Santo Domingo rapidly caught fire as passengers fled the grounded aircraft.

The video captured passengers screaming and running away from the Miami International Airport crash site of a burning plane. Others could be seen hustling away from the crash while some paused to record it on their phones. Numerous people could be seen dragging bags from the burning airplane as emergency personnel came to help.

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After the incident left three people with minor injuries, they were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment, while other passengers were driven back to the airport by a bus. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue posted on Twitter on Tuesday that "fire crews have placed the fire under control and are mitigating fuel spillage."

Videos from the site showed emergency personnel dousing the burning plane in foam. According to officials, the plane's fire started but was swiftly put out. Footage from the site showed fire trucks spraying water on the plane as it lay on its front. Social media posts on the incident showed adjacent passengers walking on the runway.

On Tuesday night, airport officials tweeted that there were some flight delays, adding that travelers should contact the airlines for further information. The tweet went on to say that the fire appears to have been started by the front landing gear collapsing in the aircraft's nose.

Since late 2021, Red Air has only been operating flights from its bases in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. Starting with charter flights between the Dominican Republic and Miami, the company now has permission to fly to Tampa, Florida, San José, Costa Rica, Medellin and Cartagena, Colombia, Panama, and Caracas, Venezuela.

The airline's launch had been lauded by Dominican Republic leaders. In December of 2021, president Luis Abinader stated, "With these flights, the country benefits from greater interconnection with the rest of the world. And of course, the tourism sector benefits directly, which is in its best moment, even surpassing pre-pandemic numbers."