Delta plane engine catches fire at John Wayne Airport forcing passengers to deplane

A Delta Air Lines plane engine caught fire this afternoon at John Wayne Airport as it rolled down the runway for takeoff. 

Passengers said as the plane was about to take off to Atlanta, there was a loud boom, a fireball and flames coming from the engine area, with black smoke billowing out.

Jay Blackmon, a passenger on board, caught the incident on camera and said he couldn't wait to get off the plane. "I've traveled a good bit, never had that happen. It shook me up a bit, I'm not going to lie… had it happened in the air, that would have been a whole other situation" said Blackmon.

An airport fire crew responded to the engine fire around 1:30 p.m., and all the passengers aboard the fully booked flight were forced to deplane and the plane was towed back to the gate with no injuries reported.

Delta Airlines released the following statement:

"Delta flight 447, set to operate service from John Wayne Airport (SNA) to Atlanta returned to the gate prior to takeoff following an apparent engine maintenance issue. The aircraft was met by local maintenance personnel for further evaluation. We apologize to our customers for this inconvenience and are working to get them to their final destinations as quickly as possible."