Thursday, 24 October 2024

Southwest Plane Makes Emergency Landing After Tire Failure


A Southwest Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Denver International Airport after one of its tires failed during takeoff.

Southwest Flight 225, bound for Phoenix Sky Harbor International Monday evening, had to return to Denver after the tire burst.

The Boeing 737-700 carried 137 passengers.

KDVR reports:

FlightAware shows the plane took off from DIA at 6:31 p.m. on Monday, however, shortly after, Southwest said one of the tires failed. The plane landed back at DIA at 7:12 p.m.

Southwest said the flight landed “without incident and taxied off the runway.”

The passengers were able to board a separate aircraft for their flight to Phoenix. FlightAware said the plane left DIA again at 10:26 p.m. and arrived in Arizona at 11:07 p.m. — nearly three hours and 45 minutes after the scheduled arrival.

Several users on Reddit posted about what they called a “scary situation.” However, a majority of the commenters praised the pilot and flight crew for staying calm and keeping the cabin informed on how to stay safe.

From 9 News:

“It was like a loud pop, which we later found out was the tire blowing out. But at the time, we kind of had no idea like, did we run over something?” said Julianna Donadio, a passenger on the flight heading to visit her mother in Phoenix.

Southwest Airlines confirmed that the tire had failed, leading the pilots to declare an emergency landing. Audio obtained by 9NEWS from Live Air Traffic reveals the pilot informed air traffic control about the uncertain extent of the damage and requesting firetrucks on the runway, prompting an emergency declaration.

Donadio described the ensuing chaos in the cabin, explaining that the tire blowout had compromised the hydraulic system.

“All of a sudden, we saw the flight attendants run… turning all the lights on inside the plane and them saying we might have an emergency landing and we have to brace for a crash,” she said this is the moment she keeps reliving in her head.

Flight attendants, unsure if the plane might catch fire upon landing, began prepping the exit rows and ensuring passengers were ready to deploy the slides if necessary.

“A lot of passengers were crying and screaming… There was definitely a moment I was like, OK, I may die on this flight, and I know fellow passengers around me felt the same way,” Donadio said.

Relief came when the pilot addressed the passengers over the intercom.

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