American Airlines tire bursts on runway, sparking fire

A tire on an American Airlines plane exploded during takeoff and caught fire Wednesday in Florida, the latest in a series of such incidents.

The flight, which was departing Tampa and headed to Phoenix, was delayed due to a “mechanical issue” on the runway just before takeoff, airline spokesman Alfredo Garduño told USA TODAY Wednesday. The problem, Garduño said, was with the tires on the Boeing 737-800.

Emergency responders responded to the scene just before 8 a.m. after receiving reports that a tire had burst and caught fire, Tampa International Airport spokesman Joshua Gillin told the Tampa Bay Times.

All people on board, including 174 passengers and six crew members, were “safely disembarked and transported by bus to the terminal,” Garduño said. No other flight operations were affected by the incident, the Times reported.

All passengers were reassigned to other flights to Phoenix.

“We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused,” Garduño said.

Another airline recently lost a tire

American Airlines isn’t the only airline to report a defective tire. United Airlines also reported losing a tire during takeoff early Monday morning.

A United Airlines plane headed to Denver from Los Angeles lost a wheel on takeoff shortly after 7:15 a.m. but managed to land safely at its destination around 10 a.m., USA TODAY reported. No injuries were reported among the 174 passengers and crew on board in connection with the incident, Bloomberg reported.

“The wheel was recovered in Los Angeles and we are investigating the cause of this incident,” United Airlines said. No further details about the tire were immediately available.

The tire loss is just one of several incidents disclosed by United Airlines over the past year that have prompted a federal investigation into the airline’s safety. United Airlines continues to face “heightened scrutiny” from the Federal Aviation Administration, which has been asked to conduct a thorough review of the airline’s operations, FAA spokesman Ian Gregor told USA TODAY Monday.

David Evans, an FAA-certified airline pilot and flight instructor, told USATODAY that losing an airplane tire is “rare” and that “every once in a while this kind of thing happens, but ultimately it’s usually uneventful.”