Kenya Airways has revealed more details of the aircraft incident that led to the closure of the runway at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) for over an hour on Tuesday.
In a statement, KQ confirmed receiving reports from Sharjah Airport authorities of a blown out tyre from one of its aircraft, a Boeing 737 Freighter.
It said the control team operations informed the pilots to divert the aircraft, that was scheduled to land in Juba, to Nairobi.
Upon arrival in Nairobi at 12:55 pm, the pilots did an overflight for the operations team to ascertain whether the plane had adequate wheels to land.
“Our team ascertained that the aircraft had adequate wheels for a safe landing as only one out of six wheels was damaged,” the statement read in part.
While touching down at JKIA, one of the other tyres of the plane is said to have failed, making it impossible for the aircraft to proceed on the runway.
Following the incident, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) released a statement, declaring the temporary closure of the runway.
An hour later, normal operations resumed at the airport as the aircraft was towed from the runway.
“Kenya Airways, in close collaboration with the airport authority and regulator KCAA, diligently worked to replace the tyres and tow the aircraft to safety. The aircraft was successfully towed from the runway at 2:12 p.m,” added the statement from KQ.
“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and reiterate the safety of our crew and customers is our number one priority.”
By Citizen Digital