IndiGo flight grounded after tyre burst at Vijayawada airport

A Vijayawada-bound IndiGo flight from Hyderabad (IGO4HJ), which arrived at the Gannavaram airport at around 4.20 p.m. on Tuesday, March 24, had to be grounded after a tyre was found burst.

All 79 occupants, including 75 passengers and four crew are safe, according to authorities at the Vijayawada International Airport.

According to information from authorities, the pilot notified about the incident to the Air Traffic Control 45 minutes after the flight landing.

A new tyre is being transported from Bengaluru, and once the replacement is done, the flight will resume its operations.

An airport official said a tyre burst can occur due to intense air pressure or due to wearing out of the tyre. But only engineering officials can specify the exact cause, the official said.

The authorities said the flight, scheduled to go back to Hyderabad, was cancelled and the passengers were accommodated in alternate flights.

Full refund was given to the passengers who cancelled their tickets, according to information.

There is no clarity yet on whether the tyre burst before taking off in Hyderabad, while landing at the Gannavaram airport, or after landing. But if the tyre burst before taking off, then the pilot would have faced issues while landing, authorities felt. They are sure that there were no issues while landing. But aircraft engineers need to look into it, before coming to a conclusion, they added.