Flight delays are always an inconvenience. But officials at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport had a good reason for holding back an early morning American Airlines flight Monday.

An early morning flight to Detroit returned to the gate shortly after pushing back when flames were seen shooting from the back of the plane, the Dallas Morning News reports.

Flight 294 was taxiing just before 7:30 a.m. when the pilot of another plane saw flames and called for fire trucks. Emergency vehicles surrounded the plane. An immediate fire was not found, but the runway was briefly closed.

An official with the Federal Aviation Association says a fuel leak may have resulted in a ball of flames shooting out the back of the plane when it was pushed into throttle for takeoff.

It was unclear how long the flight would be delayed or if passengers were placed on other flights. All runways are open and outbound flights are onetime, the Dallas Morning News reports.

FAA says possible fuel leak created ‘ball of flame’ that led to AA flight’s rerun to D/FW Airport gate [Dallas Morning News]

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