Mumbai: SpiceJet Plane Lands Safely After Tyre Falls Off During Take-Off at Kandla

Mumbai, 13th September 2025: Mumbai-bound passengers on a SpiceJet flight had a narrow escape on Friday when one of the aircraft’s tyres detached during take-off from Kandla airport in Gujarat. Despite the mid-air scare, the Bombardier Q400 turboprop aircraft landed safely at Mumbai airport, where a full emergency was declared as a precautionary measure. No injuries were reported.

The incident took place around 2.40 pm on runway 23 at Kandla. The aircraft, which uses a tricycle landing gear system with six wheels in total, lost the outer tyre on the right-hand main landing gear while accelerating for departure.

A video recorded by a passenger showed the wheel breaking free just as the plane lifted off the runway. The loose tyre rolled into the unpaved area beside the runway, while the aircraft retracted the remaining tyre into the landing gear bay. In the clip, a passenger can be heard exclaiming in Hindi, “Wheel nikal gaya” (the wheel has come off).

An air traffic controller at Kandla spotted a large black object detaching from the aircraft during take-off. “The tower observed an object rolling on the runway, which appeared to be a wheel. A ground vehicle was dispatched, and the team recovered an intact tyre along with metal components,” said an aviation official familiar with the matter.

According to an aircraft maintenance engineer, such failures may occur due to issues like faulty locking devices, incorrectly tightened axle nuts, wheel installation errors, bearing problems, or metal fatigue affecting the hardware.

SpiceJet confirmed the development in a statement. “One of the outer wheels of a SpiceJet Q400 operating from Kandla to Mumbai was found on the runway after departure. The aircraft continued to Mumbai and landed safely without incident,” a company spokesperson said.