American Airlines Flight 192 was cancelled today after a ground support vehicle caught fire near the Boeing 777-300ER. First photos and videos that appeared on social media looked as if the aircraft itself had caught fire. Additional images though more clearly showed that it was only a “K-loader” used to load cargo into the cargo hold of the aircraft and not the aircraft itself.
In a statement about the incident to Avgeekery.com, American Airlines said,
“An external piece of loading equipment had a mechanical issue and caught fire while preparing to put cargo in the hold of American Airlines flight 192 from Hong Kong (HKG) to Los Angeles (LAX). As a result, a pallet on the loading equipment containing non-hazardous goods also caught fire. Boarding had not yet started when this occurred and no passengers or crew were injured. The aircraft, a Boeing 777-300, has been taken out of service to be evaluated by our maintenance team.”
While the aircraft never caught fire, the cargo and k-loader were very close to the aircraft. The cargo door appeared to be exposed to significant heat and flames. We wouldn’t be surprised if the aircraft was out of service for a few days as a maintenance team determines if a new cargo door and/or additional repair work to the fuselage skin is necessary.
American Airlines operates a fleet of 20 Boeing 777-300ERs. The aircraft is the largest in the fleet. The larger 777 flies many of American’s flagship routes between hubs at DFW airport and Los Angeles to Asia.
Below are photos and video of the incident that were taken by Twitter and Instagram users at the scene:
Cargo fire at Hong Kong Airport. Not yet known damage to this American Airlines Boeing 777 pic.twitter.com/at96EO4ftS
— ChinaAviationReview (@ChinaAvReview) October 9, 2017
.@RunwayGirl @thatjohn @flightradar24 #AmericanAirlnes flight #AA192 (Boeing 777-300ER Reg N727AN) cargo on fire while loading @hkairport pic.twitter.com/4vVlHi73Yj
— Howard Chu (@tweet4howi) October 9, 2017
Cargo fire at Hong Kong Airport. Not yet known damage to this American Airlines Boeing 777 pic.twitter.com/at96EO4ftS
— ChinaAviationReview (@ChinaAvReview) October 9, 2017