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US Airways Flight 1702: ‘Harrowing Experience’

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Pam Wright

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A US Airways pilot was forced to abort takeoff Thursday when a tire on the front landing gear of US Airways flight 1702 blew out.

No serious injuries were reported after the Airbus A320 en route to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport from Philadelphia International Airport came to a stop on the runway.

The flight was carrying 149 passengers and five crew members.

“We started skidding down the runway, people were screaming and crying. It was quite harrowing,” said US Airways Flight 1702 passenger Dennis Fee.

Another passenger said the emergency happened very quickly.

“All the sudden we slammed back into the runway and bounced, and we go up a little more and we slam again. It happened very quickly, so we didn’t know exactly what was going on,” Larry Grant said. “Almost instantaneously people from the back were screaming ‘fire, fire,’ and so passengers did what they were supposed to do and they pulled the emergency doors over the window, and we started to proceed and the ramps inflated, and we got everybody out. We slid down the ramps, very fast.”

Christopher Teaney told the Philadelphia Inquirer the plane “kind of shot up and then bounced down.”

“Bounced real hard,” he said. “Shot up again, and then nose-dived.”

Police praised the airline crew to evacuating the plane quickly.

Emergency crews sprayed protective foam around parts of the plane to prevent hydraulic fluid from spreading.

Airport spokeswoman Victoria Lupica said two passengers sought medical treatment following the incident.

Investigators are still trying to determine why the plane crashed, although one theory is the wind may have been a factor. The plane was removed from the runway and taken to a hangar and is still being examined by investigators.

Image via YouTube

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