This is the moment a tire on a Boeing 737 jet exploded as its pilots prepared to take off from Tampa International Airport.
American Airlines Flight 590 was taxiing on the runway Wednesday morning when the plane experienced a mechanical problem, causing the right side of the aircraft to explode and catch fire.
Video of the attempted takeoff shows a cloud of grey smoke filling the air after the tyre exploded, leaving rubber fragments strewn across the runway.
There were 174 passengers and six crew members on the Phoenix-bound flight, an American Airlines spokesman said. No one was injured in the incident.
The horrific accident occurred just two days after another Boeing plane bounced off a runway in Los Angeles after losing a wheel.
American Airlines Flight 590 was on the runway at Tampa International Airport Wednesday morning when the plane experienced a mechanical problem, causing the right side of the aircraft to explode and catch fire.
Video of the Boeing 737’s attempted takeoff shows a cloud of grey smoke filling the air after the tyre burst, leaving rubber fragments strewn across the runway.
An emergency response team was dispatched to the airfield at Taxiway W shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday after the Boeing 737 plane’s tire blew out, a Tampa airport spokesman told DailyMail.com.
“Emergency, emergency, emergency. They’re on fire,” YouTube user Captain Steven Markovich, who shared a video of the incident, was heard shouting as the tire sparked.
Other voices could be heard on the radio saying “abort” and “we have a flat tire.”
Passengers and crew “safely disembarked” the aircraft and were taken by bus to Airside F. They were then re-accommodated on a replacement flight to Phoenix.
An American Airlines spokesman said the plane “experienced a mechanical issue on the runway” that “affected some of the aircraft’s tires.”
It is unclear whether the issue has since been resolved.
An emergency response team was dispatched to the airport after the explosion. There were 174 passengers and six crew members on board the Phoenix-bound flight. No one was injured in the incident.
“Customers disembarked safely and were transferred by bus to the terminal,” the spokesman said. “We do not want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
No other flight operations at the airport were affected by the incident.
The tire accident is just the latest in a series of alarming problems plaguing the troubled Boeing jetliner.
Earlier this week, a Boeing 757 wheel was seen bouncing on a runway after coming loose during takeoff.
The United Airlines flight was departing Los Angeles on Monday when the disaster struck, causing one of the main landing gear wheels to roll across the runway.
Miraculously, the plane, carrying 174 passengers and seven crew, managed to land safely in Denver despite the malfunction.
United Airlines confirmed the wheel was recovered in Los Angeles and said “we are investigating what caused this event.”
Grisly footage showed a Boeing 757 wheel bouncing on a runway in Los Angeles on Monday after coming loose during takeoff.
It’s similar to what happened in March, when a United Boeing B777-200 lost a tire, this time after taking off from San Francisco.
The out-of-control wheel then crashed into a car in the airport’s employee parking lot on March 7.
In April, a Southwest Boeing 737-800 lost its engine cowling during takeoff.
And in January, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max suffered a door stopper explosion mid-flight.
This comes just days after the company announced it plans to plead guilty to fraud in connection with the approval of its 737 Max before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia.
The US aerospace giant has apparently calculated that admitting a wrongdoing is better than fighting the charge and enduring a lengthy public trial.
In a legal filing late Sunday — minutes before the midnight deadline — the Justice Department disclosed the settlement and said the fraud charge was “the most serious and readily provable offense” it could bring against Boeing.
Prosecutors say Boeing will pay another $243.6 million fine, matching the fine it paid in 2021 for the same offense.
The Justice Department says a fraud conviction will hold Boeing accountable for “misrepresentations” it made to regulators who certified the 737 Max in 2017.
The accidents occurred less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019.
The incident is strikingly similar to one that occurred in March when a United Boeing 777-200 lost a tire, this time after takeoff from San Francisco (pictured above).
The company still faces investigations into the explosion of a panel on an Alaska Airlines Max jet in January, increased oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration and allegations from current and former employees about poor workmanship and retaliation against whistleblowers.
Boeing’s plea deal would bring the total to $487.2 million, which the Justice Department said is the statutory maximum for the fraud charge.
The agreement also requires the company to invest at least $455 million to improve security.
He will be on court-supervised probation for three years, and the Justice Department will appoint an independent monitor to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the terms of the plea agreement.
Boeing’s board of directors is also expected to meet with the families of the victims.
