Cargo Plane Returns to Hangzhou Due to Tyre-Burst on Takeoff

A Zhejiang Loong Air (GJ) cargo flight heading toward Kunming Wednesday morning made an emergency landing at Hangzhou Xiaoshan International airport (HGH) after the aircraft suffered a tyre-burst while taking off, according to a source familiar with the matter.

The Boeing 733 aircraft, Registration B-2954, performing cargo flight CDC8712 from Hangzhou to Kunming with three people on board, departed at 5:36 a.m. and was climbing out of Hangzhou when a runway inspection found the debris of a tyre on the runway, which was identified to belong to the B733 aircraft.

The crew was informed, stopped the climb, and decided to make a U-turn on the runway 22 about four hours after departure which confirmed only wheel hub left on the right main tyre.

Loong Air confirmed the incident later in a statement, saying a cargo flight GJ8721 (B733/B-2954) from its hub to Kunming made an emergency landing at Hangzhou airport after the plane suffered a suspected tyre-burst at 6:10 a.m.

The airline, together with Hangzhou airport, initiated an emergency response to the incident and guaranteed the aircraft landed safely at 9:55 a.m.

The aircraft stopped on the runway 22 with emergency services on standby.

Hangzhou airport closed one runway at 10:17 a.m. which is expected to reopen at 12:00 p.m., according to VariFlight, China's leading flight status service provider.