WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., July 22 (UPI) -- Twenty-four people were treated for minor injuries after an American Airlines flight headed for Philadelphia was forced to evacuate on the runway in West Palm Beach, Fla.
Emergency chutes were used to evacuate passengers as American Airlines Flight 1822 came to a stop seconds before takeoff at Palm Beach International Airport when a hydraulic leak was reported.
The plane was taxiing down the runway when passengers heard a squealing sound and smelled something burning.
"All of a sudden, it started smelling really bad," passenger Meghan Quinn told WPBF. "Then out of nowhere, just the whole plane shut off."
When pilots announced the plane had to be evacuated, and many people were not calm passenger Eric Moore told CNN.
Palm Beach County fire units treated passengers on the tarmac. Some suffered from exposure to the fluid, and others suffered eye and skin irritation, or bruises and sprains from sliding down the chutes.
The runway was closed and passengers were transported back to the terminal, the FAA said.
