For the second time this week, a WestJet plane blew one of its tires during departure. The Vancouver-bound flight made it into the air, only to require an emergency landing in Alberta hours later.
Flight 699 left Toronto on Friday morning. Four hours into the flight, the captain announced the plane was landing at the Calgary airport because of a popped tire.
Passengers were told the cause was likely debris on the runway.
"Takeoff was actually terribly noisy, as if we're going on a rocky runway, not a clean one," passenger Pascal Marchand said.
As the flight crew prepared to land, the sight of awaiting ambulances gave some passengers jitters – but the plane landed safely, and no one was injured.
"It was pretty scary. I was a little nervous, even though I'm on planes constantly," Marchand said.
On Monday, a Hawaii-bound Boeing 737 had both right-hand tires blow during departure from the Vancouver International Airport.
A WestJet representative told CTV News the tires popped after the flight crew hit the brakes at high speed. The flight didn't make it into the air.
The runway was closed for three hours while the plane was towed away for inspection. No one was injured.
On Dec. 31, 2009, another WestJet flight blew a tire during takeoff at YVR.
The plane was forced to circle Vancouver Island in the air to burn off excess fuel. It landed safely back in Vancouver a few hours later.
