Plane's tires burst at Sentani

Plane's tires burst at Sentani

JAYAPURA, Irian Jaya: A Fokker F-27 plane with 45 people on board had four of its tires burst as it was landing at Sentani airport on Tuesday.

Fortunately, there were no fatalities because captain Wibowo and co-pilot Dede Nurul managed to keep the plane on the runway and bring it to a screeching halt.

The plane, belonging to the state-owned Merpati Nusantara Airlines, was flying in from Manokwari and Nabire. It was carrying 40 passengers and five crew members, Antara reported.

Sentani airport was closed for two hours while workers pulled the plane off the runway.

The plane was later declared airworthy after the four tires were replaced. (emb)