A RwandAir Bombardier CRJ-900 rejected takeoff at high speed after experiencing a left landing gear wheel tire burst at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport.
The Rwandair Canadair CRJ-900 with registration 9XR-WI was operating flight WB110 from Harare, Zimbabwe to Cape Town, South Africa.
However, while it was accelerating for takeoff one of the left main gear tires burst, forcing the crew to reject the takeoff at high speed.
None of the 65 passengers and 8 crew members were injured and everyone evacuated safely. However, the aircraft blocked the runway, and as a result, there was a temporary disruption of service at RGMIA.
UPDATE: RwandAir plane tyre bursts during takeoff at Zimbabwe R. G. Mugabe Airport. There is ongoing temporary disruption of service on the runway. Authorities report that there were no injuries recorded. pic.twitter.com/jPhGeQrVNl
— The Chronicles (@ChroniclesRW) December 18, 2023
The RwandAir aircraft cleared the runway after the tire burst was quickly attended to. After having the burst tyre issue sorted the CRJ-900 did not proceed to Cape Town.
It merely taxied to a holding area – to clear the runway. The aircraft is still on the ground at RGMIA and engineers are working on it.
Due to the blocked runway, Ethiopian Airlines flight 873 from Addis Ababa to Harare was put on hold near Harare from 1239 hours to 1420 hours (1 hour 21 minutes) before diverting to Lusaka(Zambia).
Though the aircraft has been removed from the Runway, it has not flown since 17 Dec.