Fire crews at Birmingham Airport (BHX), United Kingdom (UK), assisted an Emirates Airbus A380 after smoke appeared to cover the runway and the plane’s undercarriage during landing.
The flight from Dubai Airport (DBX) landed in Birmingham on July 4, 2023, at 12:30pm local time as scheduled but witnesses described the touchdown as a “rough landing”.
“There was a problem with the brakes on the A380. It looks dramatic but passengers on board were safe at all times albeit inconvenienced. It has now moved,” a source close to the airport said.
An aviation enthusiast told the BBC that the world’s largest jet looked like it had a “damaged and flat” tire.
A passenger on the plane told Birmingham Live that once the A380 landed the plane halted and fire crews approached the aircraft.
The passengers were instructed to stay on the plane and were stuck onboard for over an hour.
In footage of the incident, the aircraft makes a normal approach, but when the A380’s wheels touch the ground smoke engulfs the area, and the plane seems to wobble from side to side.
(Footage courtesy of aviation enthusiast en@raazy03)
“After the safe landing of Emirates flight EK 039 from Dubai to Birmingham on 4 July, the aircraft vacated the runway and was attended by emergency services and maintenance technicians as there were reports of smoke during taxiing. A technical issue was identified, engines were shut down as a precaution and the aircraft was towed to a remote stand. Passengers and crew safely disembarked,” a spokesperson for Emirates told AeroTime.
The airline confirmed that once inspections were completed the aircraft was returned to service.
However, the following Emirates flight from Birmingham to Dubai departed after a two-hour delay.
“We apologize for any inconvenience. The safety of our passengers and crew is of paramount importance,” the airline added.
Emirates resumed services to and from Birmingham Airport for the first time since the pandemic on July 1, 2023.