Small Fire Erupts Next to Plane Near Liverpool Airport

An airplane flying above Liverpool's John Lennon Airport in January 2007. (Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images)

Holidaymakers at Liverpool Airport were terrified as they witnessed a fire erupting next to their plane on Friday evening, Oct. 6.

An eyewitness, known as Salford GroundHopper, wrote on twitter: “So I’m off to Bulgaria and the plane next to us is on fire.”

At first, passengers thought the ground fire unit that burst into flames was a plane on fire.

But later, authorities confirmed that the fire was  caused by a ground power unit that burst into flames shortly before 7 p.m.

A concerned twitter user posted images of the emergency services arriving on the scene.

Liverpool Airport responded quickly saying: “Hi Jon, there was a small fire in the ground service equipment but our Fire Service dealt with it quickly and safely. All is fine now.”

A ground power unit supplies electricity to the plane when it is parked on the ground.

Passengers spoke with the Liverpool Echo about the terrifying moment when the unit burst into flames.

“We were waiting to disembark when they told us to leave our bags and exit the plane as soon as possible,” Marley Whelan, from Ellesmere Port told the news outlet.

“We could see flames and a lot of smoke coming from a piece of equipment they had brought to the front of the plane,” she said.