Crews Respond To Airplane Emergency At Palm Springs Int’l Airport

At 1:30 Friday afternoon, the rear left outside tire of a MD-80 American Airlines aircraft popped when the pilot landed.

The plane, weighing more than 100,000 pounds, was carrying 141 passengers and 5 crew members on board.

“I was a little concerned,” said passenger Ken Nemec. “We knew we were on the ground so that was a good sign.”

When the tire blew, sensors immediately told the pilot about the emergencythe pilot shutdown the engines right away.

“I’m glad were all safe,” said Beth Nemec. “He did a great job landing.”

Once the plane came to a safe stop, the pilot kept the plane parked on the tarmac for quite a while as passengers waited.

“I think the fire trucks got me the most worried,” said passenger Frank Ferraro. “I was wondering if we had any type of a fire.”

Flight 543 had problems from the beginning.

It was running over an hour late from Chicago because the tow bar broke before take off and had to be repaired in the Windy City.

“Everything that could have gone wrong did,” said Maggie Ferraro.

No one was injured, and the plane was supposed to be fixed in time for its next flight, scheduled for Dallas.