Passengers onboard a Southwest Airlines flight were left terrified when the aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in Colorado . Southwest Airlines Flight 225 began to prepare for an emergency landing at Denver International (DEN) on June 3 after a sudden problem with one of its tires took place during takeoff. The Boeing 737-800 was flying to Phoenix when the aircraft returned to the Colorado airport 41 minutes after its 6:31 takeoff after one of the aircraft’s tires blown out. Some of the passengers flying to Phoenix flew out of Denver at 10:26 that night and arrived at their destination at 11:07. Flight officials have not reported any deaths or injuries from this flight landing. Tire blowouts on aircrafts do happen, usually because of ‘under-inflation,’ according to Popular Mechanic . However, they can also be blown out for reasons such as holes, incorrect pressure, and incompatibility. Southwest Airlines released a statement about the incident on June 7, and said that the pilots ‘declared an emergency before the landing.’
The airline has yet to reveal the specific reason behind the tire blowout, but it has thanked the flight crew for ‘their professionalism’ and its customers for ‘their patience.’ The airline also rescheduled their flights for free, and other passengers who decided not to change their flight time received a $100 voucher to use toward future airfare. The airline has yet to reveal the specific reason behind the tire blowout, but it has thanked the flight crew for ‘their professionalism’ and its customers for ‘their patience.’ The airline also rescheduled their flights for free, and other passengers who decided not to change their flight time received a $100 voucher to use toward future airfare. A short time later, she noticed the chaos throughout the aircraft and that the tire blowout had apparently compromised its hydraulic system. ‘We saw the flight attendants run… Turning all the lights on inside the plane and them saying, we might have an emergency landing and we have to brace for a crash,’ she said. ‘A lot of passengers were crying and screaming… There was definitely a moment I was like, OK, I may die on this flight, and I know fellow passengers around me felt the same way.’ She added that crew members and passengers were excited when they realized everything was under control. ‘Everyone was like screaming and clapping and cheering. And I know, on some normal flights, people do that. But it was so different,’ said Donadio. ‘It was just like, just such a thankful, like appreciation to the flight attendants and the pilot.’
This week’s incident was not the first time that an issue occurred with a Southwest Airlines aircraft that flew out of DEN. Southwest Airlines Flight 3695 which was flying out of DEN to Houston in April, made an emergency landing at the airport after the engine fell off and hit the wing flap during takeoff. Pilots made a successful emergency landing that morning, but videos of what happened inside the plane went viral.
Lisa, one of the flight passengers, told ABC News that the engine ‘peeled off within the first 10 minutes.’ ‘We all felt kind of a bump, a jolt, and I looked out the window because I love window seats, and there it was,’ she said. Flight 3695 passenger Cooper Glass also told ABC News that the entire experience was ‘frightening.’ ‘People in the exit row across from me started yelling up to the flight attendants and showed them the damage,’ he said. Although Glass was frightened during the flight, he praised its pilot, who he believed ‘did a great job on landing.’ Daily Mail has reached out to Southwest Airlines and Denver International Airport for comment.
