An Air Canada plane with 128 passengers on board has made a safe emergency landing at Madrid airport following problems with one of its two engines and a ruptured tyre during take-off.
The Boeing 767 had been flying in circles over the Spanish capital Madrid, trying to burn off fuel before landing.
The aircraft had departed from Adolfo Suarez-Barajas international airport earlier in the day and was scheduled to land in Toronto at 3.40pm local time.
In a statement, the airline said the plane “experienced an engine issue shortly after take-off” as well as a ruptured tyre – one of 10 on the Boeing 767-300.
It added that the aircraft “is designed to operate on one engine and our pilots are fully trained for this eventuality”.
“Nonetheless, an emergency was declared in order to obtain landing priority,” Air Canada said.
A spokeswoman with Spain’s airport operator AENA said the airline had requested a slot for an emergency landing some 30 minutes after take-off.
Spain’s El Mundo newspaper’s website published audio it said featured the plane’s pilot explaining to the passengers the need to return to Madrid because a wheel had been damaged during take-off.
“Because we are a bit too heavy, we have to get rid of fuel before being able to land,” the voice can be heard saying in Spanish.
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