AI Plane bound to India delayed at Sharjah airport due to tyre defect

Dubai: A faulty tyre of a 737-800 aircraft resulted in temporary closure of the runway, flight diversions and fuming passengers at the Sharjah International Airport on Tuesday.
Air Indian Express flight LX 536 to Thiruvananthapuram from Sharjah, which was scheduled to take off at 12:10pm on Tuesday afternoon was delayed for over 8 hours when it encountered a tyre burst during take-off. On board were 172 passengers (167 adults and 5 infants), and 6 crew members.
There were no casualties reported.
Mohini Singh a senior official at the airline confirmed the accident and said all that passengers were safely taken to the terminal waiting lounge. She said: “The runway had to be closed temporarily so that the aircraft can be towed back to the bay. We have immediately asked for a new aircraft from India.”
Abdulwahab Mohammad Al Roomi, Director General of Civil Aviation in Sharjah in a statement issued said that the pilot aborted take off and all the passengers were safely evacuated to the terminal building where they were comfortably rested in the airport lounge.
Passengers who were onboard the aircraft said that they panicked upon hearing the screeching sound of the brakes followed by the sound of the tyre burst.
“The aircraft was already rolling and had gathered speed when the incident took place,” said a passenger who is travelling with her young son. No sooner the aircraft was brought to a halt the Civil Defence arrived. We were asked to disembark after an hour and were taken to the airport lounge where lunch was served,” she said.
07/07/09 Sunita Menon/Gulf News, UAE

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