An Air India jet with 273 passengers and crew on board made a safe emergency landing at the Los Angeles International Airport after blowing a tyre during take off on Tuesday, airport officials said.
No injuries were reported, city Fire Department spokesman Jim Wells said.
Airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles said Air India Flight 136, bound for Delhi via Frankfurt, blew one of its tyres soon after it took off at 2033 local time (1003 IST).
The Boeing 747 dumped fuel over the ocean, then returned to the airport at 2233 local time (1133 IST) emanating sparks as it touched down.
More than 100 fire fighters and paramedics responded, dousing its wheels with foam to cool them after it came to a halt.
"We were prepared for the worst scenario. Fortunately, it did land safely, with some fire on the right side," Wells was quoted as saying by the media.
Castles said the landing triggered a Grade 2 alert at the airport, a grade lower than the maximum alert issued for the emergency landing.
Traffic was temporarily disrupted at the airport as two runways were closed following the incident. Normal operation resumed soon afterwards.
A spokesman of the airline said in Mumbai a probe had been ordered in to the mishap and the engineers were attending to the aircraft and depending upon the serviceability of the jet it would depart again.
Otherwise, he said, passengers would be accommodated by another airline.
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