Aircraft Is Deemed Safe By Australian Airline

A Qantas Airways A380 blew two of its 20 tires on landing Wednesday night, causing a fire in the left landing gear of the aircraft. All 244 passengers on the plane were evacuated safely, but stood on the tarmac for nearly two hours before being bused to the terminal at the airport.

File Photo

The flight was enroute from London via Singapore, according to multiple media sources. Business Week reports that Qantas inspected the airplane following the incident and declared it was safe to fly on Thursday. Qantas spokesman David Epstein said "Our engineers have been inspecting the aircraft today and they are satisfied it remains entirely safe to operate and it has not sustained any significant damage.”

Video of the incident posted on You Tube shows the plane making a normal landing, but then sparks and flames begin to erupt from under the left wing. A passenger took video of the landing which is presented on a closed circuit television system to seatback monitors. The aircraft did not deviate from the runway centerline during the incident. The camera then shoots out the window to show an orange glow from the left side of the airplane.

There has been no official explanation as to why the two tires blew out on landing.

FMI: www.qantas.com