It’s Boeing again; landing gear of 737 Max 8 catches fire at Denver airport

New Delhi: Boeing’s beleaguered 737 Max jetliner family is again under the microscope following an emergency evacuation at Denver International Airport on Saturday.

American Airlines Flight AA3023, a Boeing 737 Max 8 carrying 173 passengers and six crew, halted its takeoff roll at 2:45 p.m. after the right landing-gear tire failed and ignited, sending thick smoke billowing onto Runway 25L.

The aircraft, bound for Miami, was immediately surrounded by fire crews who doused the blaze by 5:10 p.m. All on board escaped via emergency slides; one passenger suffered minor injuries. 

Footage shared on social media shows evacuees, a number of them clutching luggage, making their way down slides as flames still licked the gear assembly. 

NEW - American Airlines Boeing 737 Max catches fire at Denver airport, passengers evacuated after landing gear combusts.pic.twitter.com/D8kC3D2uDL

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Aviation regulators warn that retrieving belongings can cost valuable seconds and endanger lives, yet Boeing’s emergency-evacuation instructions have done little to curb this risky behavior.

This incident marks the second American Airlines emergency in Denver this year involving Boeing narrow-body aircraft. 

On March 13, Flight 1006, a 737-800, suffered an engine fire during taxi after a maintenance error. The National Transportation Safety Board is now investigating both events, with preliminary focus on Boeing’s landing-gear and tire-system designs as well as the clarity of its maintenance manuals. Critics argue that Boeing’s increasingly complex engineering has outpaced the airline industry’s ability to inspect and service these components reliably.

The 737 Max series has carried a particularly heavy burden since the fatal Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes in 2018 and 2019, which grounded the fleet worldwide until late 2020. Although Boeing implemented software fixes and new pilot-training mandates, mechanical failures continue to plague the model. 

In response to the Denver fire, the FAA has ordered immediate inspections of all 737 Max 8 landing-gear trunnion pins and tire-pressure sensors. Boeing has pledged full cooperation and announced an internal review of its quality-control procedures. 

Meanwhile, American Airlines has grounded affected 737 Max 8s and rebooked passengers onto Airbus A320-family jets.

As summer travel peaks, the pressure is on Boeing to prove that its latest generation of narrow-body jets can operate without fresh headlines of fire and evacuation.