Passengers escape after aircraft tyres burst on landing at Delhi

COLOMBO - Passengers on board a Sri Lankan flight had a fortunate escape on Saturday, when the tyres of the aircraft burst after landing at the IGI airport in New Delhi, India, according to media reports.

The incident occurred around 6.55 pm, when Sri Lankan Airlines flight UL 195, carrying over 70 passengers and a crew on board from Colombo, was able to land after the second attempt, airport sources said.

The first attempt at landing was aborted due to turbulence caused by the crosswinds at the airport and the pilots were asked by the air traffic control tower to take a go-around for a second attempt.

A team of officials from the Delhi International Airport Limited were finally sent to tow the aircraft to the terminal building, but they found two rear tyres of the Boeing 737 plane had burst on landing.

The passengers, who were all safe, were offloaded at the taxiway, as towing the aircraft was not possible, and taken in buses to the terminal building, the airport sources said.

Flight movement at the airport was affected, with the aircraft stuck on the taxiway which was closed for operations while other aircrafts had to take detours to reach the terminal.

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