A320 Apparently Suffered Brake Problems, Tire Caught Fire On Landing

Passengers on a JetBlue flight arriving at Sacramento from Long Beach Thursday night exited via the planes emergency evacuation slides after a hard landing caused one of the planes tires to catch fire.

There were 86 passengers and five crew aboard the A320. The plane reportedly made a hard landing and then had a problem with its brakes, which caused the tire to catch fire.  JetBlue said the crew made the decision to evacuate the plane as a precautionary measure.

Television station KCRA in Sacramento reports that all of the injuries were considered minor, though five people were transported to local hospitals. Airport officials said one runway was closed, but a second remained open and no flights were delayed due to the incident. The hard landing did cut some deep grooves into the runway at Sacramento International.

File Photo

The planes flight data recorder has reportedly been removed from the aircraft, and the incident is under investigation.

FMI: www.ntsb.gov