• Print
• E-mail
• Add to My Trips

1:07 PM PDT -- An American Airlines jetliner with 135 people on board landed safely at LAX after circling overhead when one of its tires blew, authorities said.

Authorities had said the pilot was going to attempt to land at 12:45 p.m. after dumping fuel around Catalina Island.

The five-person crew of Flight 1586 bound for Toronto contacted controllers at 11:20 a.m. to report that the left inboard main gear tire had blown and that they needed to make an emergency landing, according to John Hotard, an American Airlines spokesman, and Albert Rodriguez, a spokesman for Los Angeles International Airport.

Firefighters and airport emergency crews were awaiting the Boeing 737 on a runway this morning, Rodriguez said.

Pilots told fire officials that they planned to circle the airport for 45 minutes to an hour before attempting the emergency landing, possibly to burn off fuel, Rodriguez said.

"That would diminish the possibility of having some sort of fire when it lands," Rodriguez said. "Taking out some of the danger."

Rodriguez said it was not clear how the tire blew.

molly.hennessy-fiske@latimes.com

• • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Baltimore Sun
  • Chicago Tribune
  • Daily Press
  • Hartford Courant
  • LA Times
  • Orlando Sentinel
  • Sun Sentinel
  • The Morning Call
  • The Virginia Gazette

• Los Angeles Times, 202 West 1st Street, Los Angeles, California, 90012 | Copyright 2009