Spirit crew tell passengers to stay seated as plane catches fire on Atlanta landing

Airline says a brake overheated upon landing at airport

A Spirit Airline flight caught fire while landing in Atlanta on Sunday (Twitter/Screengrab/@trianglegrrl)

Passengers aboard a Spirit Airlines flight from Tampa, Florida, were asked to stay put even as the aircraft briefly caught fire upon landing in Atlanta.

The airline said a brake overheated upon landing at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport around 9.25am on Sunday, causing a small fire, reported Fox5.

Emergency rescue workers were quickly able to extinguish the flames.

“The aircraft was towed to the gate where guests safely deplaned without any injuries. Thank you to the Atlanta first responders for immediately meeting the aircraft,” the airline said.

Videos on social media showed the plane landing as smoke billowed out of its rear end.

“Once we landed it made a weird noise from the left side of the plane. Nobody knew what it was until we stopped completely in the middle of the landing strip,” Scottie Nelms, a passenger, said.

“We saw flames coming from the engine and people and myself started freaking out.”

Flight attendants had to keep reminding passengers to remain seated and keep the aisles clear, reported TMZ.

They added that at the time there was no need for evacuations.

“The plane will be temporarily removed from service for maintenance,” the airline’s statement added.