T'way Air flight lands safely at Taoyuan Airport after losing a tire

Taoyuan, Feb. 8 (CNA) A passenger jet operated by South Korean low-cost carrier T'way Air lost a tire on landing at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Sunday afternoon, prompting the temporary closure of its north runway and disrupting 14 flights.

The T'way Air flight, arriving from Jeju Island, touched down on the north runway at 3:52 p.m., when its right main landing gear tire detached, according to Taoyuan International Airport Corp.

The aircraft safely taxied to parking stand A2 and came to a stop at 3:54 p.m., with no injuries reported, the airport operator said.

Following the incident, the airport immediately suspended takeoffs and landings on the north runway and switched to single-runway operations to conduct safety inspections.

After foreign object debris (FOD), including aircraft components, was marked and removed, the north runway resumed normal operations at 5:35 p.m.

The incident occurred during a peak arrival period, affecting around 14 flights, including eight arrivals and six departures. Most delays were kept to within 20 minutes.

However, Japan Airlines flight JL8671, which landed shortly after the T'way Air jet, was delayed by about one hour while waiting on a taxiway for FOD clearance. During the runway closure, air traffic controllers coordinated aircraft movements using the south runway.

The airport operator said it has notified the Civil Aviation Administration, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications and the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board in accordance with regulations governing aircraft incidents and major accidents.

Authorities said they will continue to cooperate with relevant agencies to determine the cause of the incident and will further strengthen runway inspections and foreign object debris prevention measures.