The four main tires on a FlyEgypt Boeing 737-700 burst when landing in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, on October 15th. The twinjet was flying in from Hurghada, Egypt, when the incident happened.
More than a rough landing
The Boeing 737-76J was performing FT-3103 from Hurghada International to Cluj-Napoca International before landing at the Romanian airport's runway at 19:34 EEST. However, when touching down on Cluj-Napoca's runway 25, the control tower quickly noticed sparks and flames appearing from the landing gear.
As reported by The Aviation Herald, the plane came to a stop on the runway, with all of its tires burst, at approximately 1,028 m (3,370 ft) past the displaced runway threshold. As a result, the runway was closed until the 737's wheels were replaced and the aircraft was towed.
Romania's aviation authority, AIAS, shared details on the incident on October 22nd. The agency states that the fire was caused by a hard landing. The fire was extinguished, and there were no injuries to the crew members and passengers on the plane. Nonetheless, AIAS has launched an investigation.
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More on the airline
According to ch-aviation, FlyEgypt has eight aircraft. The fleet is split between two 737-700s and six 737-800s that offer an average age of 14.6 years. The airline is also expecting the 737 MAX to join its facilities.
FlyEgypt has only been active for six years, having commenced operations in February 2015. With operating bases across the Egyptian cities of Alexandria and Cairo, the low-cost and charter carrier serves a handful of domestic operations alongside its flights to Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
“There are plenty of reasons to love travel. Most of us would love it even more if it were made simpler, more convenient and more affordable,” the airline shares.
“flyEgypt wants to do exactly that; provide all our travellers - Egyptians and tourists alike - with a new, smarter and more convenient way to fly at great low fares.”
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Back in action
Registration SU-TMM, the 737-700 involved in today's incident, joined FlyEgypt in February 2019. The aircraft has also flown with Germania and Air Berlin since entering service in August 2008.
SU-TMM has since returned to work and has been spotted at Frankfurt, Budapest, and Berlin over the last week. It even returned to the spot of the fire, Cluj-Napoca, on October 22nd.
Simple Flying reached out to FlyEgypt for comment on last week’s incident. We will update the article with any further announcements from the airline.
What are your thoughts about this incident involving FlyEgypt's 737? Have you ever flown with the carrier over the years? Let us know what you think of the airline and its operation in the comment section.