SINGAPORE : A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight
carrying 216 passengers found itself in an unexpected situation
mid-way through flight on Wednesday morning.
SIA said SQ 407 from New Delhi experienced loss of
pressure in one of its tyres.
Relevant authorities in Singapore were alerted about
the issue, and clearance was given for the aircraft to land.
The airline said flight operations of the Boeing 777-300 were not
affected.
But emergency services, such as fire control, were deployed as a
precaution.
The plane landed at about 7.30am and ground engineers spent 45
minutes checking it, before it was cleared to taxi to the
gate.
A Channel NewsAsia viewer onboard said: "The plane came to an
abrupt halt, passengers were calm and the pilot kept them informed
of the situation."
The President of the Airline Pilots Association of Singapore,
Captain P James, said a loss of pressure in tyres is a rare
occurrence. But he said planes are designed to have enough
redundancies, and such a loss of pressure in only one tyre will
have little impact on landing and movement on the runway.
- CNA/ms
