Madrid (dpa) - A plane with 130 passengers on board has been circling for hours over an area near Madrid due to a damaged tire. A safety landing was prepared on Monday evening, as Spanish air traffic control ENAIRE announced.
The Air Canada Boeing 767 aircraft suffered major damage to a landing gear wheel when it took off in the Spanish capital, a spokesman for the agency said on request. Parts of the damaged tire had also hit an engine and suffered, it said. The security landing will take place around 7.30 p.m., Spanish television reported, citing the Ministry of Transport in Madrid.
All security measures have now been taken at Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez, the Madrid city council said. According to media reports, a military plane will accompany the Canadian plane to the security landing.
The plane had started in Madrid at 2.30 p.m. and was supposed to fly to Toronto, the pilot reported the damage shortly after take-off and announced the return to Madrid. Since then, he has been making laps over an area south of Madrid to use up fuel and make the machine lighter before the safety landing, the authorities said.
Due to the sighting of drones, Madrid airport was completely closed for about an hour and a half on Monday afternoon. According to the information available, the problems with Air Canada aircraft have nothing to do with this incident.
Communication from the city of Madrid
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