Passengers on a Ryanair flight travelling to Italy from Barcelona had a massive scare when several tyres of the plane burst upon landing, Daily Mail reported. The incident happened at Bergamo’s Orio al Serio airport, near Milan around 8:00 am (local time) on Tuesday (Oct 1).
Pictures from the site show metal rims touching down on the runway. The explosion damaged 450 metres of the runway, due to which no flights are operating from the airport as of now.
All operations at the airport have been suspended till at least 5:00 pm (local time), according to reports. No one was injured in the accident as border police and firefighters quickly evacuated the passengers and crew.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said, “Flight FR846 from Barcelona to Milan Bergamo (1 Oct) experienced a tyre issue upon landing at Milan Bergamo Airport.”
“Passengers disembarked normally, and the aircraft was inspected by engineers, who are currently servicing the aircraft so that it can return to service.”
Cleanup operations are currently going on, after which the plane will be removed from the runway. Sky Italia reported that flights have been diverted to land at other airports, including Milan Malpensa and Verona.
Flight FR846 from Barcelona had 162 passengers and 6 crew members on board. The aircraft was still in motion when the tyres burst. However, the pilot managed to steady it and bring it to a halt, avoiding any fires.
Informing about the delays in the other flight, airport authorities said in a statement, “SACBO (the company that manages the airport) advises that due to an aircraft grounded on the runway due to technical problems, operations are suspended.”
“Departing flights are delayed and arriving flights may be diverted or cancelled until reopened.”
Meanwhile, passengers on another aeroplane told Daily Mail that their pilot told them that a “bad landing” had caused the tyres to burst. However, the exact reason for the incident has not been revealed by the airline yet.