Air Canada jet successfully makes emergency landing at Madrid airport after landing gear tyre burst and was sucked into engine during take-off
- Air Canada Boeing 767 made an emergency landing at Madrid airport at 7.15pm
- There were no immediate reports of injuries among the 128 terrified passengers
- Flight bound for Toronto was stricken by burst tyre which got sucked into turbine
- Photo purportedly taken aboard the plane showed flames spewing from engine
- An F-18 Spanish Air Force fighter jet was scrambled to fly alongside the plane
An Air Canada jet successfully made an emergency landing at Madrid airport tonight after a landing gear tyre burst and was sucked into its engine during take-off.
The Boeing 767 bound for Toronto landed at 7.15pm local time after circling above the Spanish city for a harrowing three hours to burn off as much fuel as possible.
There were no reports of any casualties among the 128 passengers despite dozens of ambulances and fire engines rushed to Madrid's Barajas Airport after the plane took off at 3pm.
Before landing passengers had tweeted photos purporting to show flames spewing from the plane's engine and a Spanish F-18 fighter jet escorting it over the airport.
Footage purportedly taken by a passenger aboard the Air Canada Boeing 767 (left) shows flames spewing from the engine, while another photograph shows a Spanish Air Force F-18 fighter jet escorting the passenger plane (right)
The Boeing 767 bound for Toronto landed at 7.15pm local time after circling above the Spanish city for a harrowing three hours to burn off as much fuel as possible
Police escort passengers after their flight had to do an emergency landing at Adolfo Suarez Madrid-Barajas Airport on February 03
Relieved and joyful passengers after disembarking the plane following hours of circling above the Spanish city to burn off fuel
The pilot of the plane had earlier called for calm as hospitals in the area were put on high alert.
'The aircraft has landed without incidents and the mechanics are evaluating its condition to determine the best way to disembark the passengers,' airport operator AENA said.
'Pretty scary rough landing, but we made it. Thanks for all the messages and wishes,' tweeted one passenger identified as Aaron C., who had posted images from inside the plane while it was in the air.
Brock Mierzejewski, from Vancouver, who was on the plane with his parents, told The Associated Press: 'Obviously a lot of nervous tension while we were in the air, but the pilots did a terrific job landing the plane.'
'We are still in a little bit of shock but glad to be safe,' Mierzejewski said shortly after the plane landed.
'Landed safely, everything is ok!' said Guido Fioravantti, from New York, whose father was on the plane and had told him that the cabin had remained 'calm and collected' during the ordeal.
'Pilots train for this a lot, so no reason to panic. It's also more common than many people would think,' Fioravantti said.
Spain's Transport Minister Jose Luis Abalos, who had made his way to the airport in the capital, took to Twitter to congratulate the pilot and crew for their expertise.
The Air Canada Boeing 767 had circled over the south east of Spain to burn fuel before landing. Although it was initially thought the plane would land around 6pm, this was delayed and it landed at 7.15pm local time
A Spanish Air Force F-18 fighter flying alongside the Air Canada's Boeing 767 over Barajas Airport, in Madrid
The flight path of the Air Canada plane which made its emergency landing at 7.15pm local time after spending three hours circling Madrid
Share this article
Air Canada said in a statement that the plane circled for four hours 'to use up fuel and lighten the aircraft for a safe landing' in Madrid after an engine issue and rupture of one of its 10 tyres.
'The aircraft, a Boeing 767-300, is designed to operate safely on one engine and our pilots are professionally and fully trained for this event,' Air Canada said in a statement.
Canada's largest carrier said there were no reported injuries and customers will be provided hotels and rebooked on other flights.
Earlier on Monday, social media lit up with videos of a plane flying less than a kilometre over Madrid.
An AENA spokeswoman said the airline had requested a slot for an emergency landing some 30 minutes after takeoff (Stock image of Air Canada plane)
The plane is understood to have taken off just before 3pm from Madrid's Adolfo Suarez-Barajas international airport (pictured)
The incident occurred just hours after a drone sighting near the takeoff area at the airport caused a brief disruption, with 26 flights diverted away from Barajas.
The Canadian airliner called air traffic control 30 minutes after takeoff and requested a slot for an emergency landing, an AENA spokeswoman said. She could not say whether the incident was in any way related to the previous shutdown.
According to Flightradar24, a tracking website, the Air Canada Boeing 767-300ER, is about 30 years old.
Most watched News videos
- Terrifying moment Turkish knifeman attacks Israeli soldiers
- Dog fight organiser reveals the baffling prize pot of the blood sport
- Horror as sword-wielding man goes on rampage in east London
- Shocked eyewitness describes moment Hainault attacker stabbed victim
- Moment first illegal migrants set to be sent to Rwanda detained
- Hainault: Tributes including teddy and sign 'RIP Little Angel'
- Two heart-stopping stormchaser near-misses during tornado chaos
- Moment van crashes into passerby before sword rampage in Hainault
- Protesters slash bus tyre to stop migrant removal from London hotel
- Manchester's Co-op Live arena cancels ANOTHER gig while fans queue
- Police arrive in numbers to remove protesters surrounding migrant bus
- Police officers taser and detain sword-wielding man in Hainault
