A flight leaving Melbourne Airport had to abort take-off at the last second on Sunday, causing two wheels to reportedly explode.
Etihad Airways flight EY461 to Abu Dhabi started to roll down the Tullamarine airport runway shortly before 7pm, but had to slam on the brakes. Fire trucks soon responded and doused the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner’s landing gear, a video posted on social media shows.
In a statement, Melbourne Airport said the flight “rejected take-off” and the Aviation Rescue and Firefighting Service deployed firefighting foam as a precaution.
“All 289 passengers safely disembarked the aircraft and were bussed to the terminal yesterday evening,” an updated statement said on Monday morning.
A spokesperson for Melbourne Airport said damage to the plane’s tyres meant it could not be towed off the runway on Sunday night, shutting the north-south airstrip for hours. The plane was moved by Monday morning.
“Runway inspections have been completed and the runway has been reopened for operations this morning,” a spokesperson said on Monday.
A passenger on the plane reported two tyres had burst. Etihad Airways has been contacted for comment.
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