LOS ANGELES — On Thursday (14th November) an Alaska Airlines (AS) Boeing 737 lost one of its tires during takeoff from Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).
The Boeing 737-900ER with registration N461AS was operating flight AS309 from Washington (IAD) to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) with 175 passengers and six crew members on board.
Alaska Airlines 737 Loses Tire
Flight 309 departed from Washington, D.C., at 5:57 PM local time when the crew reported a strong “jolt” shortly after takeoff. As a result, some overhead bins opened and the jolt even triggered an emergency oxygen mask to fall.
Passengers onboard reported that they heard a “loud pop” and felt the aircraft shake.
The flight crew requested an inspection of the runway at IAD, where the ground officials found some tire debris. Despite the problem, the landing gear retracted properly, and the crew chose to continue the flight bound for LAX, declaring an emergency as a precaution.
“There’s no reason we can see to discontinue the flight at this point. Just press on to Los Angeles and take care of it there,” a crew member stated during radio communications, as reported by ABC7 Los Angeles.
Emergency Response at LAX
As an emergency was declared, emergency services were on standby at LAX as the plane approached. Passengers were informed about the situation roughly an hour before landing and were instructed to assume the brace position during the descent.
Brent Drewette, a passenger from San Juan Capistrano, described the moments leading up to the landing: “It was 10 seconds of really violent shaking. But then emergency crews checked, and they brought us in, and everything was fine.”
The 10.7-year-old aircraft touched down at LAX at 8:07 PM, without any further incident and safely taxied to the gate. All those onboard applauded the crew members for the safe landing. Among the passengers were dozens of Orange County middle school students returning from a field trip.
“I had to remain really calm for my daughter,” said Allison Mueller of Virginia. “I was scared.”
Investigation Underway
Alaska Airlines (AS) confirmed that the Boeing 737 involved will be removed from service pending a thorough investigation.
“While this incident is a rare occurrence, our flight crews train extensively to safely manage through many scenarios. We understand this might have been a concerning moment for our guests on board. We apologize for what they experienced.”
Alaska Airlines spokesperson
Airport operations at LAX were unaffected, and no disruptions were reported.
Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.
Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News.
