Cathay Pacific released a statement confirming that at least 11 people were injured during an aborted takeoff at Hong Kong’s international airport on Saturday. The incident occurred due to a technical issue, leading the plane, which was bound for Los Angeles, to abort takeoff in line with standard procedures. The flight had 17 crew members and 293 passengers on board.
The injuries were sustained by passengers during a precautionary evacuation using escape slides at the back gate of the aircraft. Cathay Pacific stated that nine out of the eleven passengers treated at hospitals have already been discharged, while the airline’s staff will continue supporting the two remaining hospitalized passengers and their families. In their statement, Cathay Pacific expressed apologies for the disruption caused by the incident.
According to police reports cited by public broadcaster RTHK, the incident was caused by an overheated tyre on the plane, resulting in its burst.
In a separate incident earlier in the week, a Scoot airplane flying from South Korea to Singapore experienced a missing nose wheel upon arrival in Taipei during a scheduled stop. The airlines released a statement explaining that upon landing at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, a technical fault was detected, leading to the cancellation of the subsequent Taipei to Singapore flight.
Taiwanese media outlets reported that the left nose wheel collapsed during the plane’s landing at 12:06 am after abnormal tyre pressure was detected by sensors prior to descent. Taiwan News reported that upon landing, the left tyre and metal rim on the nose gear were torn off, leaving only the right nose tyre to support the plane and keep it upright.
According to aviation safety portal SKYbrary, the nose wheel is responsible for aiding directional control during takeoff and landing, as well as allowing the aircraft to maneuver on the ground.
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