Tyres of Etihad plane 'explode' during take-off with almost 300 passengers on board

An Etihad plane was forced to make an emergency landing after its tyres 'exploded' upon takeoff.

According to reports, the Etihad Airways plane flight, carrying nearly 300 passengers, was preparing to embark on its planned path to Abu Dhabi from Melbourne Airport in Australia on Sunday (5 December).

However, it is reported that smoke began to emerge from the landing gear before flames engulfed the wheels, as per Metro.

A passenger who was on board spoke to 3AW and claimed to TV host Jacqui Felgate, who also caught some footage of the incident (via The Daily Mail), that the plane 'had to slam on the emergency brakes' during take-off as the landing gear 'apparently caught fire'.

Thankfully, all those onboard were unharmed, with there being no reports of any injuries.

An Etihad Airways spokesperson said to LADbible in a statement: “Etihad Airways flight EY461 from Melbourne (MEL) to Abu Dhabi (AUH) experienced a rejected take-off on 05 January 2025.

"The flight crew decided to halt the take-off for technical reasons, the aircraft was safely brought to a stop on the runway and emergency services attended as a precaution.

"Guests have been disembarked safely and our teams are working to enable them to continue their onward journeys as quickly as possible.

"Etihad Airways sincerely regrets any inconvenience caused. The safety and comfort of our guests and crew remain our highest priority.

"The fire service applied foam to the tyres on the aircraft’s landing gear, which is a routine precaution following a high-speed rejected take-off."

Unfortunately, due to the incident, Melbourne Airport has been experiencing delays to its flight schedule as the craft remained on the runway due to the tyres' damage.

A Melbourne Airport spokesperson also told Metro: "The Aviation Rescue and Firefighting Service responded to a request from the aircraft and deployed fire fighting foam as a precaution.

"Repairs are currently underway. All passengers disembarked the aircraft and have been bussed to the terminal.

"We continue to have one runway available for operations, which will be used for all arrivals and departures."

In similar news, Jeju Air flight 7C2216 crashed when making an emergency landing at Muan International Airport, in South Korea on 29 December.

All the occupants are safe after an Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner plane (A6-BLN) with 289 passengers on board aborted take-off on Runway 34 after malfunction of the plane's landing gear led to smoke and damage to two of the wheels this afternoon at Melbourne Airport… pic.twitter.com/zb4HtTjMKV

— FL360aero (@fl360aero) January 5, 2025

Of its 181 passengers, 179 have been confirmed dead after it skid on its belly when its landing gear appeared to having issues before crashing into a wall.

Two crew members survived the incident and were taken to hospital, where one of them spoke for the first time.

While an official investigation into the cause of the crash is still ongoing, it was revealed that air traffic control sent a 'bird strike' warning to the plane prior to the accident.