A Ryanair Boeing 737's tires burst on landing, leaving a 500-yard gouge in the runway at one of Italy's busiest airports
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
- Four tires on a Ryanair Boeing 737 Max burst upon landing at Milan Bergamo Airport.
- Pictures showed a bare metal wheel left a long scratch on the runway.
- Italy's third-busiest airport shut the runway for at least nine hours, canceling flights.
A major Italian airport had to close a runway on Tuesday after it was damaged when a Ryanair plane's tires burst upon landing.
The Boeing 737 Max was arriving at Milan Bergamo Airport from Barcelona when all four tires on its rear landing gear burst, the airport said in a statement.
Images shared on social media showed a damaged bare metal wheel and a long scratch on the runway.
The scratch was a depth of about a centimeter but nearly 500 yards long, according to the airport.
@aviationbrk Bergamo Airport this morning pic.twitter.com/0RedKQZU4V
— GVL (@GVL42867714) October 1, 2024
In a statement shared with Business Insider, Ryanair confirmed that the flight "experienced a tire issue upon landing."
"Passengers disembarked normally, and the aircraft was inspected by engineers, who are currently servicing the aircraft so that it can return to service," Ryanair said.
Milan Bergamo Airport said that all 161 passengers were safe — but it caused hours of flight disruption at Italy's third-busiest airport.
As the aircraft remained on the runway after landing at 8 a.m. local time, a notice was sent to pilots warning that operations were suspended for at least the following nine hours.
In its statement, the airport said departing flights were delayed, while those arriving either had to divert or be canceled.
"The reopening of the runway is contingent on the removal of the aircraft and the completion of the pavement restoration work," it added.
According to FlightAware data, about 12% of Tuesday's departing flights were canceled at the airport.