An airplane was compelled to perform an emergency landing after losing one of its wheels during take-off. A passenger captured the astonishing incident as the missing wheel rolled along the runway, leading to shouts alerting the cabin crew. Airport staff quickly retrieved the wheel along with several metal rings.
The aircraft involved was a SpiceJet Q400 turboprop equipped with a tricycle landing gear system, comprising two nose wheels and four main landing wheels. Despite the initial scare, the pilot managed to continue the flight to its destination without any further issues.
This incident took place at Kandla Airport in Gujarat, India, on September 12. The plane successfully landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai at 3:51 pm, where emergency crews were on standby as a precautionary measure.
All passengers and crew emerged unscathed from the ordeal, and normal airport operations resumed shortly after the incident, as confirmed by What’s The Jam.
Coincidentally, another SpiceJet flight had encountered a suspected tailpipe fire the day before at Delhi airport, leading to a significant delay for flight SG041 to Kathmandu. The airline later clarified that the aircraft returned to the bay due to safety concerns following indications of a tailpipe fire on another plane.
In a separate incident earlier in the year, an Etihad plane bound for Abu Dhabi had to abort take-off after two wheels exploded. The Boeing 787 jet was surrounded by fire trucks at Melbourne Airport, where foam was applied to the landing gear as a precautionary measure.
Fortunately, there were no reported injuries in both incidents. An Etihad Airways spokesperson explained that the decision to halt take-off was made for technical reasons and that all passengers were safely disembarked.
Repairs were underway at Melbourne Airport to address the damaged aircraft tires, with operations continuing on a single runway for all arrivals and departures to minimize disruptions.