Flight 2D405 caught fire while taxiing for departure at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The aircraft was leaking fuel shortly before it caught fire, according to the pilots of an aircraft that was following Flight 405. All passengers and crew evacuated the aircraft. Fifteen were taken to a local hospital to be treated for injuries. The airport's two runways were closed. The south runway reopened around 3:20 PM. Dynamic Airways continue to operate Flight 405 on the Fort Lauderdale - Caracas route.
Aircraft
The aircraft involved in the incident was a Boeing 767-269ER with registration N251MY. The 131st Boeing 767 built, it first flew on January 30, 1986 and was delivered to Kuwait Airways approximately seven weeks later. While owned by Kuwait Airways, the airframe was leased at times to EgyptAir, Qatar Airways and Polynesian Airlines. In 1995, Kuwait Airways sold the airframe to Birgenair, which subsequently leased the airframe to Alas Nacionales and LAN Airlines. Following the collapse of Birgenair shortly after the crash of Birgenair Flight 301, Air Gabon acquired the airframe for two years until its acquisition by First Security Corporationin 1999. The plane was then stored for the next five years out of service until United Arab Emirates-based Phoenix Aviation purchased the frame from Wells Fargo in 2004, leasing it to Kam Air in early 2004. Current owner KMW Leasing of Salt Lake City, Utah acquired the plane from AVE.com in June 2006, who subsequently leased the airframe on a "power by the hour" basis to MAXjet and Sunny Airways prior to its placement with Dynamic. Despite its age of nearly 30 years, as of October 6, 2015, the airframe had only flown for 29,970 hours over 9,937 flight cycles. Previous to being leased by Dynamic Airways, the aircraft was in dry storage for approximately 29 months. Dynamic had only logged 240 hours during the six-week period prior to the fire at Fort Lauderdale.
Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board has begun an investigation. On November 3, 2015, the NTSB released an update to its ongoing investigation, which stated that they found that the main fuel supply line coupling assembly had disconnected in the wing-to-engine strut above and behind the left engine. Examination of the left engine revealed no evidence of an engine uncontainment or other failure. Also, the lower inboard portion of the left wing, left engine cowling, and left fuselage center section sustained thermal damage. The fire did not penetrate the fuselage. The report condemned some passengers for taking their luggage.
