Passengers aboard the Srilankan Airlines flight UL 121 had a narrow escape on Sunday morning when the rear tyre of the aircraft burst as the flight touched down in Chennai. The flight, which is a scheduled trip from Colombo to Chennai, was approaching the Chennai International Airport around 8.40 am on Sunday when the incident happened.

Carrying 142 passengers, the Airbus A332 aircraft landed in the airport when its rear tyre deflated. Luckily, none of the passengers in the plane was hurt. Speaking about the incident to TNM, an official from Srilankan Airlines said that the operator is managing the situation as of now and no further details can be shared.

In a similar incident earlier this month, a tire of a Spicejet flight travelling from Chennai to New Delhi burst as the aircraft was making an emergency landing in Chennai airport. The flight reported hydraulic issues minutes after it took off and sought clearance to make an emergency landing. While landing the plane, the tyre on the right-rear side burst, forcing the airport to close the main runway for operations. Luckily, all 189 passengers, who were inside the plane, escaped unhurt.

In May 2018, another aircraft operated by Srilankan Airlines skid off the runway in Kochi international airport, damaging two of the tyres in the process.

According to a few websites, the leading causes of tyre bursts in aircraft are underinflation of tyres and increased reuse of the tyres, causing fatigue in the material. Experts also say that pumping the tyres to the highest pressure can hold, can help increase the durability of the same.

This is a developing story