Passengers aboard a United Airlines flight out of O’Hare Airport were forced to deplane on the runway after the plane’s tire blew out during takeoff on Thursday.
Around 1:45 p.m., United Airlines Flight 455 from Chicago to Pheonix “safely aborted takeoff” after the Boeing 737-900 blew a tire. All 161 passengers and six crew members deplaned on the runway and were bused to the terminal, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
Video posted to social media showed a large emergency response at the airport, with several buses standing by to transport the passengers.
United said in a statement around 4 p.m. that it was arranging for another aircraft to take the passengers to Pheonix later in the day.
Flights to O’Hare were delayed an average of 25 minutes as of 3:50 p.m. because of a disabled aircraft on a runway, the FAA said, though it was not immediately confirmed that the disabled plane was the United flight with the blown tire.
The FAA is investigating the incident.
