Turkey: Passengers, Crew Safely Evacuated After Boeing 737 Plane's Tire Burst During Landing

The Boeing 737-800 of Turkey-based Corendon Airlines stopped safely on the runway after landing at Gazipasa airport near the Mediterranean coastal town of Alanya. (Reuters File Photo)

Turkey's Transport and Infrastructure Ministry reported damage to the plane's front gear but did not provide details

As many as 190 people were safely evacuated from a plane in Turkey after one of its tires burst during landing at a southern airport, Turkey’s transportation ministry said on Thursday.

The Boeing 737-800 of Turkey-based Corendon Airlines stopped safely on the runway after landing at Gazipasa airport near the Mediterranean coastal town of Alanya, the company said. The plane, which carried 184 passengers and six crew members, was on a flight from Cologne, Germany.

Corendon Airlines denied Turkish media reports that the aircraft had landed on its nose. Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministry reported damage to the plane’s front gear but did not provide details. The runway was not damaged but flights were diverted to the nearby Antalya airport while the aircraft was being removed. It was the second incident at a Turkish airport in as many days.

On Wednesday a Boeing 767 cargo aircraft belonging to FedEx Express made an emergency landing at Istanbul Airport after its front landing gear failed. No one was injured and the crew safely evacuated the aircraft. This incident comes as Boeing has been dealing with heightened regulatory scrutiny and other fallout from a midair blowout of a cabin panel door plug on a nearly new 737 MAX 9 in January. The planemaker is carrying the burden of multiple sequential crises from deadly crashes of two 737 MAX jets to the deep slump in travel during the pandemic.

(With agency inputs)