An Etihad plane from Australia to the United Arab Emirates was forced to abort takeoff after two of its wheels exploded, it has been alleged.
There were around 300 people on board the aircraft when smoke started to rise from its landing gear at Melbourne Airport.
Flames engulfed the wheels just before the 14-hour flight to Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE.
Footage from the scene shows the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner twin-jet on the tarmac surrounded by fire trucks.
Australian TV show host Jacqueline Felgate shared the video on Instagram claiming that the pilot ‘had to slam on the emergency brakes.’
She said that the ‘landing gear caught on fire and reportedly two tyres have burst.’
‘Etihad Airways flight EY461 rejected take off this evening when departing Melbourne Airport for Abu Dhabi, Felgate wrote in the caption.
‘The Aviation Rescue and Firefighting Service responded to a request from the aircraft and deployed fire fighting foam as a precaution.
‘There are 289 passengers on board and no reports of injuries. Due to the damage to the aircraft’s tyres, we are unable to tow it off the runway.
‘We will disembark passengers and bus them to the terminal. Repairs will be done on the aircraft on location.’
A spokesperson for Melbourne Airport told Metro that emergency staff have not been able to tow the aircraft off the runway because of damage to the tyres.
They said: ‘Etihad Airways flight EY461 rejected take off this evening when departing Melbourne Airport for Abu Dhabi.
‘The Aviation Rescue and Firefighting Service responded to a request from the aircraft and deployed fire fighting foam as a precaution.
‘Repairs are currently underway. All passengers disembarked the aircraft and have been bussed to the terminal.
‘We continue to have one runway available for operations, which will be used for all arrivals and departures.’
Metro has contacted Etihad Airlines for a comment.
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