Terror on Boeing 737 as plane explosion forces pilots to make ‘hard landing’: ‘Unsettling’

It was the wheel of misfortune.

A Norwegian flight started with a bang after a tire exploded shortly after takeoff, forcing the pilots to execute an emergency touchdown.

The Boeing 737 had reportedly just departed Stockholm, Sweden, on Wednesday en route to Paris, France, when passengers heard what gave the impression of an explosion

“During takeoff, a tire explosion occurred,” Sara Eriksson, press supervisor at Sweden’s Maritime and Flight Control Center (JRCC), told local media.

She reported that the impromptu blowout reportedly left some “tire debris” on the runway.

“We take all incidents like this seriously,” Eriksson added. “It’s not very common.”

As a consequence of the mishap, the pilots had been pressured to flip around and ferry all 181 passengers back to Stockholm.

During a flyby, they observed that the tire was deflated and ready for a “hard landing,” according to the JRCC spokeswoman.

Thankfully, the captains had been ready to contact down safely at 11 a.m. local time, after which first responders rushed onto the runway.

“I can understand that it might feel unsettling, but the landing was carried out without drama,” a Norwegian spokesperson said.

The trigger of the in-flight flat is yet unclear, but airplane tires can burst for numerous causes, including particles on the runway, overheating and underinflation, the Daily Express reported.

In a related incident in January, a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner operated by Etihad Airways was pressured to abort its flight from Melbourne, Australia to Abu Dhabi when two tires allegedly burst shortly after takeoff.