A PASSENGER has told how he fled a plane which burst into flames on a runway in Las Vegas.

Jeremy Turnbull, 28, was on board the BA flight with friends after spending a holiday in the Nevada resort.

The plane was approaching top speed and was about to take off when the pilot, passengers and crew spotted something was wrong.

Mr Turnbull, from Blacksmith Close, Billericay, heard a“big bang” as the plane was about to leave the ground.

He said: “We were taking off and then about a quarter of the way through the take-off, there wasagreat big bang and the brakes were applied.

“We went into an emergency stop and everyone was thinking, that doesn’t sound good.

“Some people could see smoke coming from the left-hand engine and others were saying they could smell smoke to.

"We could smell burning and everything was getting a bit more nervewracking.

“A couple of people started running down the aisle, which made everybody really nervous.

“Some of them could see the fire from the windows, but we couldn’t see from where we were.

We just thought, we have to get out of here.”

Mr Turnbull, who was with former Brentwood School friends Robert Bull, 28, and Dave Willey, 28, said they tried to escape using the middle exit, but were headed off by the smoke and people trying to rescue their belongings.

He said: “There was a great bundle of people in the middle and some people started trying to get their bags down, too, so there were people shouting, get a move on.

“We managed to push our way through and get out the front exit.

"We were the last people to get out down the slides and we ran to the side of the plane.

“It was quite frightening.

"A few people were hesitating on the slides, but we helped push them down to stop them completely freezing.”

The friends escaped unhurt and caught another flight home to Gatwick the next day.

Although physically unscathed, Mr Turnbull, said the reality of what happened has stayed with him.

He added: “We were pretty nervous flying home afterwards.

"Everyone got a bit emotional. We were very lucky we hadn’t taken off.

“If we had, I think we would have really been in trouble. It could have been so much worse.

“We are so grateful to the crew.

"It was frightening for them, too, but they all did their jobs as they should have done, and the captain really held his nerve.

"When you are on a burning plane, you couldn’t wish for more really.”