An aircraft had to perform an emergency landing after losing one of its wheels during take-off. A passenger captured the alarming incident from their seat while fellow travelers alerted the crew by shouting about the wheel detachment, which then rolled along the runway. Airport personnel quickly retrieved the missing wheel and several metal rings.
The plane 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 safely land the aircraft at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai following the incident at Kandla Airport, Gujarat, India, on September 12.
The landing took place without any further issues at 3:51 pm, with the aircraft taxiing to the terminal unassisted. All passengers and crew members emerged unharmed, and normal airport operations resumed shortly after the incident, as per reports from What’s The Jam.
This event occurred just a day after a separate SpiceJet flight faced a suspected tailpipe fire at Delhi airport, leading to a significant delay for flight SG041 bound for Kathmandu. The airline later clarified that the plane returned to the bay as a precaution after a nearby grounded aircraft showed signs of a tailpipe fire.
In a similar incident earlier in the year, an Etihad plane carrying nearly 300 passengers had to abort take-off due to two wheel explosions. Flight EY461, scheduled for Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, experienced the issue just moments before departure at Melbourne Airport. Emergency services surrounded the Boeing 787 jet as a safety measure, applying foam to the landing gear.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported, and an Etihad Airways spokesperson confirmed the decision to halt the take-off for technical reasons, ensuring the safe disembarkation of all passengers. Repairs were initiated at Melbourne Airport, with operations continuing using a single runway for both arrivals and departures. Minimal disruptions to other flights were reported during the incident.
