A Delta flight from Atlanta to Los Angeles blew out two tires while landing (Pictures: Twitter/@meeradeo/@LDubepigenetics)
A plane terrified passengers when it blew two of its landing gear tires on the runway upon touchdown.
The scare occurred on Delta Flight 515, flying from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Los Angeles on Tuesday.
Passengers first suffered a nearly one-hour-long delay in Atlanta due to inclement weather, according to flight tracker FlightAware.
The plane landed in California shortly after 1pm.
The airline stated that the plane ‘came to rest on the taxi way after a possible issue with some of its tires’.
Passengers on the flight described the moment in much more frightening terms.
‘All of a sudden POW BAM right landing gear fumbles the bag and we pop 2 tires on the right,’ one passenger said on Twitter.
‘Everyone freaks out and we skidded to a stop somewhere between hell and a runway,’ the passenger said.
Passengers were delayed another hour on the runway as the plane was inspected by firefighters and a maintenance crew. Buses were eventually sent to return the passengers to the airport.
Despite the chaos, nobody on board was hurt. The airport was forced to shut down two runways for several hours despite how busy it was, during the ordeal.
The incident comes while major airlines are struggling to keep up with increased air travel after pandemic lockdowns. Staffing shortages have caused a major increase in flight delays and cancellations across the globe.
On July 11, nearly 10,000 passengers were stranded at London’s Heathrow Airport after 61 flights were cancelled in one evening.
Landing issues have also plagued other airlines recently. A Spirit Airlines flight in July from Tampa to Atlanta caught fire after landing after one of its breaks overheated.
First responders at the airport quickly extinguished the blaze and nobody was injured, the airport said.
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