Terrifying moment Boeing 737 bursts into flames just before passengers were due to board after oxygen cylinder explodes at Kazakhstan airport
- SCAT Airlines flight DV742 catches fire during maintenance at airport gate
- Horrified passengers look on from the terminal as flames erupt from plane
- Blaze destroyed jet before firefighters could bring the flame under control
- SCAT Airlines accused of being among world's most dangerous carriers
This is the terrifying moment a commercial airliner bursts into flames moments before passengers were about to board.
The Boeing 737-300 caught fire after an oxygen cylinder exploded as horrified onlookers watched on from the gate.
Dramatic footage shows 15ft-high flames erupting through a massive hole in the fuselage, sending thick, black smoke billowing across the airport.
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Terror at the terminal: Horrified airline passengers look on from the gate after the plane they were due to board bursts into flames at at an airport in Kazakhstan
Destroyed: Dramatic footage shows 15ft-high flames erupting through a massive hole in the fuselage, sending thick, black smoke billowing across the airport as firefighters battle to control the blaze
The disaster struck soon after the Scat Airlines flight DV-742 landed at Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan yesterday after flying from Astana, it was reported by The Aviation Herald.
Engineers were carrying out routine maintenance in readiness for the next flight when the oxygen cylinder exploded near the front luggage compartment just behind the cockpit.
Fortunately, the incoming passengers had already left the 25-year-old aircraft and the outgoing ones had not yet been called to board.
The fire is understood to have caused irreparable damage before firefighters were able to bring the flames under control with water cannon.
Disaster: The fire is understood to have caused irreparable damage before firefighters were able to bring the flames under control with water cannon
SCAT airlines has a terrible safety record and was earlier this year ranked among the most dangerous carriers in the world.
The company was given a safety rating of just one star out of seven, putting it among the bottom in a report by Australian review site AirlineRatings.com which was published in January.
In January 2013, all 21 people on board a SCAT Airlines flight from Kokshetau to Almaty died when the aircraft crashed in poor weather near Kyzyltu.
All five of the most dangerous airlines listed are banned in the European Union Member States and ‘strongly advised against’ in the United States.
Inferno: Disaster struck soon after the Scat Airlines flight DV-742 landed at Aktau Airport in Kazakhstan after flying from Astana
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