Hundreds of passengers evacuated after Delta Air Lines Airbus A330 engine catches fire at Orlando International Airport

Hundreds of passengers have been taken off a plane after one of its engines caught fire as it was about to take off, airport officials have said.

The Delta Air Lines plane carrying nearly 300 people was pushing back from the gate at Orlando International Airport in Florida when smoke began to appear from the engine on its right wing on Monday.

There were no initial reports of injuries, the airline said.

Pictures and video published on social media showed flames and smoke rising from the Airbus A330 and passengers sliding down an escape chute as they left the aircraft.

The plane was heading for Atlanta, a journey of more than 400 miles with a flight time of around one hour and 40 minutes.

The Federal Aviation Administration said it is going to investigate what happened.

Flight 1213 had 282 passengers and 12 crew members, Delta said.

The airline said its flight crews “followed procedures to evacuate the passenger cabin when flames in the tailpipe of one of the aircraft’s two engines were observed”.

A social media user posted a video of what appeared to be a serious fire and flames coming from the Airbus plane, and another video of passengers exiting the plane via a slide.

Orlando International Airport said on X that the fire was on the ramp area and that the airport’s aircraft rescue and firefighting team responded quickly. Airbus did not immediately comment.

Delta said maintenance teams will check the aircraft, and the airline will bring in additional aircraft to help customers reach their final destinations on Monday.

It’s the latest in a series of high-profile aviation incidents that have raised questions about how safe flying is in the US.

Last month, an engine on an American Airlines jet caught fire after the plane diverted to Denver, forcing the evacuation of passengers onto the wing of the aeroplane. The engine caught fire while taxiing to the gate.

In January, 67 people died after a mid-air collision between an American Airlines regional jet and an Army helicopter near Reagan Washington National Airport.