(TargetDailyNews.com) – The bad news for Boeing aircraft just keeps on coming with the latest hair-raising runway incident. On July 10, a Boeing 737 was taking off from Tampa, Florida, with 174 passengers plus six crew members on the plane, when one of its tires shredded during the takeoff roll and caught fire.
Video captured at the airport shows the dramatic moment. One tire on the right appears to fall into pieces while sparks fly, and then clouds of smoke roll across the runway as flames can be seen under the wings. The plane had at least 1,000 gallons of jet fuel in its wing tanks.
The plane was bound for Phoenix, Arizona. Luckily, the flight crew was able to abort the takeoff in time, and emergency crews in trucks rolled out just before 8 a.m. Reports from American Airlines indicate the 737-800 had a “mechanical issue” related to the tire, but provided no further detail.
No one aboard the craft was injured, and the Federal Aviation Administration has started an investigation.
According to Ed Booth, an expert on planes, several different malfunctions could have led to the frightening incident. Citing the crash of the famous supersonic Concorde in 2000, he said a piece of debris on the tarmac may have snagged the tire. It is also possible that the tire was too worn and just waiting to fall apart under load. Finally, Booth said, a stuck brake could have heated the wheel and tire enough to cause the disintegration.
Someone on social media who claimed to have been a passenger reported about what was seen inside the cabin. The unidentified person said that when the plane finally came to a stop, the captain announced that the approaching fire trucks were coming as a precautionary measure. “From row 30, we could see the flames,” the passenger said.
Airline mishaps and near-misses have grabbed plenty of headlines recently. Just the day before, on July 9, two commercial craft came within 750 feet of each other over Syracuse, New York’s Hancock International Airport.
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