Air Canada flight makes emergency landing after blowing tires on takeoff

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

An Air Canada Flight from Honolulu to Sydney made an emergency landing early yesterday at Honolulu International Airport after blowing out two tires on takeoff.

The Air Canada Airbus A340 departed from the gate to Honolulu's runway 8R at about 2:30 a.m. yesterday, said Scott Ishikawa, spokesman for the Department of Transportation.

Two tires on the plane's main landing gear blew out on takeoff, Ishikawa said. According to the gear manufacturer the main landing gear are two gear structures — each with four wheels — behind the nose gear and on either side of the A340's centerline gear.

The pilot made it safely into the air, but turned around to make the emergency landing on runway 8L.

Crash teams stood by while the aircraft landed, but the runway was not foamed, Ishikawa said. The plane made it to the ground safely at about 3:15 a.m., and no one was injured.

Fearing pieces of the blown tires may have been strewn across runways 8R and 8L and posed safety hazards to other flights, airport officials diverted traffic from the two runways until after the sun rose and the runways could be cleared.

Passengers from the Air Canada flight disembarked, and the plane remained parked at the airport yesterday while federal officials investigated the cause of the tire failure, Ishikawa said.

Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.