Team Herald
VASCO: A major tragedy was averted at the Dabolim International Airport when the tyre of a Coast Guard Dornier flight caught fire and burst on the runway on Thursday afternoon.
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The incident took place when the flight which was undergoing routine testing was landing at the airport.
The Indian Navy rescue teams quickly responded and started rescuing and clearing the runway. Nobody was injured in the incident and finally, at around 1 pm, the ill-fated aircraft was towed away and the runway was cleared for operations.
Earlier, following the incident, flight operations were delayed and most flights were rescheduled by half an hour. All six flights which were scheduled to arrive at the Dabolim airport were denied landing permission and were diverted.
However, the Indian Coast Guard officials denied that the flight was landing when the incident occurred and clarified that the incident took place when the flight was doing a ground taxing check. The aircraft was not planned for flying at all and only undergoing routine tests at the Dabolim International Airport, they said.
According to these officials, a technical snag developed during flight testing and the flight was held up on the runway following a problem with the tyre on the left side. It was a routine taxi check and there were no passengers, no injuries were reported and everyone was safe.
Meanwhile, Airport Director Dhananjay Rao was not available for more details.
