Tyre of Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight bursts at Chennai airport, passengers safe
The rear tyre of a Delhi-bound SpiceJet flight burst while take off, prompting an emergency landing at the Chennai airport around 2.25pm on Thursday. Following the incident, the runway was closed for maintenance till 6PM. The authorities said all the 199 passengers travelling in the plane are safe.
The incident happened as the flight departed from the airport around 1.43pm. Soon, the crew members informed the airport authorities that some ‘hydraulic’ glitch had occurred in the plane, following which it decided to make an emergency landing at the airport, reported The News Minute. The authorities said the plane’s rear tyre burst as it touched the tarmac.
In an official statement, SpiceJet said: “SpiceJet Chennai-Delhi flight suffered a suspected tyre burst at the time of take off. The crew decided to turn back and landed safety at Chennai. Passengers were deplaned safely in a normal manner and taken to the terminal building.”
The Chennai Airport authorities said on Twitter the tyre burst happened due to hydraulic problem on the starboard side of the plane. “Today around 1425 hrs tyre burst & hydraulic problem in MAA-Delhi bound SG106, led to its emergency landing. Aircraft landed safely but with another tyre burst on starboard side. All 199 passengers on-board safely deplaned and returned to terminal.”
The authorities also tweeted the runway will be closed for at least three hours, while the secondary runway will be used for smooth flight operations. “Due to damage to main runway and aircraft stuck in taxiway near the runway the same will not be available for operations for at least 3 hours. Secondary runway is in use currently. Inconvenience caused to passengers is regretted.”
Meanwhile, flights from the airport have also been affected due to the non-functioning runway. Jet Airways on its Twitter handle said: “The main runway at #Chennai airport is unavailable due to an incident involving an aircraft of another airline. Some of our flights to/from Chennai have been consequently affected.”
