UPDATE: Southwest Plane Aborts Takeoff At Sacramento International
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The investigation continues this morning into what caused the tires of a Southwest Airlines flight to Seattle to blow out during take off from Sacramento International Airport on Tuesday night.
The plane was towed off the runway this morning and flights are running as scheduled.
The 737 plane, Flight No. 2287, was attempting to take off at about 6:15 p.m. but aborted the takeoff and remained on Runway 16R after its two main left tires blew. There were 132 passengers, including two small children, and five crew members on board. There were no reports of any injures.
"Right when we were about to take off, everything started shaking," one passenger said.
Said another, "We were bouncing all over the ground."
Buses were sent out to the plane for the passengers to evacuate via a portable stairway. All passengers were removed from the plane by 7:10 and no one requested medical attention. The runaway remained closed as of 7:20 but no other flights were affected, according to a press release from Sacramento County, which manages the airport.
The flight was scheduled to depart out of Gate B18. It was delayed until at least 9:05 p.m. and a new plane leaving from Gate B22, according to Southwest's website.
Tuesday's incident is not the first landing gear blowout in recent memory at Sacramento International. On Aug. 26, 2010, 15 people were injured after a JetBlue airbus made a hard landing. The plane blew two tires that caught fire.
All 86 passengers were forced to evacuate the plane down the emergency slides.
