MiG-29K aircraft suffers tyre burst at Goa airport, none hurt; flights hit

A MiG-29K fighter aircraft of the Indian Navy suffered a tyre burst on the taxiway at the Dabolim airport in Goa on Tuesday afternoon, just before it was to undertake a routine sortie, officials said.

Nobody was injured in the incident.

Due to the tyre burst, the aircraft got stranded on the taxiway, prompting authorities to shut the airport's runway till 4 pm, affecting the services of passenger flights, officials said.

The runway operations resumed at around 3:52 pm, with an IndiGO flight landing from Kolkata, said Dabolim airport's director SVT Dhanamjaya.

Sources said more than 13 flights were either diverted or rescheduled due to the incident.

"When the aircraft was on the taxiway ahead of its routine sortie, it suffered a tyre burst. Immediately after that, the fire brigade and other services were pressed into action," a navy spokesperson said, adding that the single-pilot aircraft was towed away from the taxiway.

The official did not specify the time of the incident.

The Dabolim airport, located in the South Goa district, is part of the naval base INS Hansa.

The facility is used by naval aircraft during certain times of the day.

Earlier in the day, SVT Dhanamjaya had said the airport runway would remain shut for operations till 4 pm due to the tyre burst incident.

"The services of 10 flights were affected. Some flights were diverted to the Manohar International Airport at Mopa," the airport director said.