United Airlines plane blows tire on takeoff, keeps going
A United Airlines plane blew a tire when taking off from Newark Liberty International Airport but continued its flight to Portland International Airport in Oregon, where it landed safely, the carrier says. Passengers from Flight 1551 deplaned normally, United adds.
The plane landed just before 10:30 p.m., reports CBS Portland affiliate KOIN-TV.
Fire, police and emergency crews were on scene awaiting the flight's landing, which was shaky, but without sparks or smoke, the station says.
Passengers told KOIN they felt something pop during takeoff.
"When we were taking off out of Newark, the plane kind of shuddered as the nose lifted. After that, everything was fine. About 90 minutes before we landed, the crew came out, made sure everyone was awake. Told us we were going to have a problem with the landing gear and to prepare for the worst," Kyle Hobbs says.
The flight crew went over how to properly brace themselves and had four passengers move seats so they could help with an emergency slide, if necessary.
"We received word of an aircraft inbound reporting an issue and we had crews standing by to assist," PDX spokesperson Kama Simonds says.
