An American Airlines flight heading from Colorado Springs to Dallas-Fort Worth was forced to divert about 30 minutes after takeoff to make an emergency landing at Denver on Thursday evening, whereupon one of the plane’s engines dramatically caught on fire on the tarmac.

Passengers were swiftly forced to evacuate, including via wing and emergency slide, and could be seen running for safety through thick smoke with flames behind them.

The 172 passengers and six crew on board all survived although 12 people were taken to hospital with minor injuries.

On Friday morning the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it would investigate the incident.

Videos of passengers standing on the wing of the plane as smoke poured out of the engine were posted on social media. American Airlines said the plane had landed safely when it experienced an “engine-related issue”.

Shortly before landing, the pilot of the aircraft notified air traffic control there was an engine issue, but said it was not an emergency, according to air traffic control audio from LiveATC.net. A few minutes later, the issue escalated with someone on the control audio stating: “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday! Mayday! … engine fire!”

The flight made an emergency landing after reporting alarming engine vibration. The plane caught on fire while taxing to the gate just before 6pm local time, 8pm ET on 13 March.

“American Airlines Flight 1006 diverted to and landed safely at Denver International Airport around 5.15pm local time on Thursday, March 13, after the crew reported engine vibrations,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. “After landing and while taxiing to the gate an engine caught fire and passengers evacuated the aircraft using the slides.”

Videos show flames coming from the plane and passengers evacuating the aircraft by climbing onto a wing.

A replacement aircraft and crew was provided to transport the remaining passengers to Dallas in the early hours of Friday.

“We thank our crew members, DEN team and first responders for their quick and decisive action with the safety of everyone on board and on the ground as the priority,” American Airlines said in a statement.

A passenger on the plane, Gabrielle Hibbitts, told CBS News Colorado: “As soon as the plane landed, we smelled this weird burning plastic smell and then everybody started screaming and saying there was a fire.”

The FAA said it will investigate the incident, which comes amid a series of aviation issues since the 29 January midair collision of a commercial flight and a military helicopter on the outskirts of Washington, DC that killed 67 people as both aircraft plunged into the Potomac River.

Other recent incidents involving US flights include a Delta Air Lines plane that crashed and flipped over while landing in Toronto last month, a near miss in late February between a Southwest Airlines flight and a private jet in Chicago, and a Japan Airlines plane clipping the wing of a Delta plane with passengers on it awaiting de-icing at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on 6 February.