TAMPA — A flight from Tampa to Phoenix was delayed after tires blew during takeoff from Tampa International Airport on Wednesday.
Video shows the tires blow out on American Airlines flight 590 which was carrying 174 passengers and six crew members and had been scheduled to take off at 7:39 a.m, the “Today“ show reported.
But as the plane was about to take off the tires disintegrated, leaving a trail of smoke and sparks on the runway. The plane stopped and the tires burst into flames. Four Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting trucks eventually arrived at the plane to put the fire out before it spread to the rest of the aircraft, WTSP reported
The passengers and crew left the Boeing 737-800 and were taken to the terminal. Airport flight operations were not affected, an airport spokesperson told the Tampa Bay Times via email.
“Customers safely deplaned and were bused to the terminal,” American Airlines spokesperson Ethan Klapper told the newspaper. “We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
Klapper said the plane had a mechanical issue with the tires before takeoff.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating, the “Today” show reported.
A passenger explained to WFLA what it felt like when the tires blew:
“Today was unbelievable,” Sheri Blankenship said. “We get to the airport. Everything was fine. We loaded (well), got ready to taxi the runway, started down the runway full force. All of a sudden, it felt like we were on a gravel road.”
“Then it felt like we hit a big pothole in the road,” Blankenship added.
Blankenship said it took about three hours for them to get off the plane, bus back to the terminal and get a different flight. But she was hesitant to get on another plane.
“I didn’t want to get on another plane,” she told the news station. “I wanted the credit, and go to Enterprise. I wanted to drive to Phoenix.”
A wheel fell off a United Airlines Flight on Monday, The Associated Press reported. The plane in that incident was a Boeing 757-200.
A tire fell off on March 7 after the aircraft, en route to Osaka, Japan, took off from San Francisco. It landed on a car in the airport employee parking lot. That plane safely landed in Los Angeles, CNN reported.
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