Continental Plane Blows Tire on Takeoff, Lands Safely at Houston Airport

May 3, 2006
The plane tried to land once at Bush Intercontinental Airport but was waved off so officials could assess the damage and the plane could burn fuel.

A Continental Express plane blew a tire upon takeoff Tuesday but landed safely after circling the airport for about two hours.

The plane tried to land once at Bush Intercontinental Airport but was waved off so officials could assess the damage and the plane could burn fuel, said Continental Express spokeswoman Kristy Nicholas.

Continental spokeswoman Sarah Anthony said the Minneapolis-bound plane carried 45 passengers and a crew of three.

The passengers were taken by buses to the terminal about 30 minutes after the landing.

The airport got the call about the tire about 4:25 p.m., said spokesman Richard Fernandez. Other airport operations continued normally.

The jet was an Embraer 145, the same kind of plane that veered off a runway in Chicago on Tuesday.

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

News stories provided by third parties are not edited by "Site Publication" staff. For suggestions and comments, please click the Contact link at the bottom of this page.