A Delta Connection Bombardier CRJ-200 caught fire while the crew was preparing the aircraft for takeoff in Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday.  The incident, on Flight 5563 to Atlanta, happened about 30 minutes before takeoff and no one was hurt.  No passengers had boarded the 48 passenger aircraft at Tallahassee Regional Airport, but bags were already on board and crewmembers on board were running pre-flight checklists.

As the crew ran the checklist, the pilot noticed smoke coming out of an area between the pilot’s seat and the galley.  The pilot and a flight attendant, the only ones on board at the time, evacuated the plane and firefighters arrived quickly to extinguish the flames.  According to firefighters at the scene, the fire was at its strongest behind the pilot’s seat.  The fire left a 6 by 18 inch hole in the airplane.

The National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating the incident and have not released any information yet.  In a press conference, however, a firefighter said he believed the fire was in an electrical area.  Of course, firefighters aren’t aircraft accident investigators so we’ll have to wait and see what the NTSB says about this.

Velozia Air will keep you updated as more news comes out about this.

Some of the information on this post is based on an article by the Tallahassee Democrat.

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