Raleigh-Durham International Airport officials said two people on a general aviation plane are safe after someone on board reported a blown tire following takeoff.
RDU officials said the plane circled back and landed safely on Wednesday. No injuries were reported.
Other WRAL Top Stories
WRAL News spoke with a flight instructor who said blown tires like this are not uncommon.
“It looks like it was a very benign situation that if they didn't handle it well, could have been more serious,” said Raleigh-area flight instructor Steve Welsh.
Welsh said this is something that pilots are trained to deal with.
In this case, he says the pilots on board the jet would have tried to land the plane as slowly as possible
“They would try to touch down as softly as they could,” Welsh said. “And then don't touch the brakes, but just allow the plane to roll to a stop. And that appears what happened today.”
RDU officials said one runway was closed while crews worked to clear debris. It has since reopened.