A Boeing 737-300 aircraft reportedly caught fire and skidded across the runway of a Senegal airport, injuring at least 10 people.
According to PEOPLE, the passenger plane was Air Senegal flight HC301. The plane was departing from Blaise Diagne International Airport in the early hours of Thursday, May 9. The flight, operated by local airline TransAir, was flying to Bamako, Mali.
A total of 79 passengers, two pilots, and four cabin crew members were onboard the flight. At 1:14 a.m. local time, the Boeing 737 airplane was seen skidding off the runway while on fire. Musician Cherick Siriman Sissoko was on board the flight and posted a video of the incident on Facebook. “Our plane just caught on fire,” he wrote. “At Dakar Airport Blaize n Dia.”
The pilot was reportedly among the 10 people who were injured in the accident. Four of those 10 were also seriously hurt.
Senegal’s Transport Minister Malick Ndiaye released a statement noting that airport operations resumed hours later. Boeing also released a statement about the 373 plane. “carriers operate and maintain their airplanes for upward of 30 to 40 years,” the company told PEOPLE. It also referred any additional requests for comment to the airline.
The Latest Boeing 737 Incident Occurred Following a Series of Other Boeing Plane Issues
The Senegal situation happened just hours after a Boeing 767 crashed on the runway at the Istanbul Airport after its landing gear failed.
The incident in Senegal also occurred a little over a month after another Boeing 737’s engine cover flew off in mid-takeoff. This incident happened while a Southwest flight was traveling from Denver to Houston.
A Boeing 777 experienced a major issue weeks before the Southwest incident when it lost a tire shortly after takeoff from San Francisco. Passengers on a Boeing 757-200 witnessed a wing coming apart in Feb. There was also a nearly tragic incident involving a 737 Max 9 in Jan.
Bloomberg reports that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is now probing Boeing’s safety claims after the Jan. 2024 incident. The investigation is focusing on whether the comments made by the company or its executives had misled investors in violation of its rules.
The Jan. 2024 flight, which was carrying 171 passengers and six members, was forced to return to Portland, Oregon after one of the door lugs suddenly blew out. Although no one was seriously injured during the ordeal, the plane was significantly damaged.
Months after the incident, AP News reported that Boeing paid Alaska Airlines $160 million in compensation. The money covered Alaska Airline’s pretax loss related to the accident.