6th January 2025 – (Melbourne) An Etihad Airways flight departing from Melbourne Airport encountered a critical situation on Sunday night, leading to an emergency response. Flight EY461, bound for Abu Dhabi, was accelerating down the runway at nearly 300 km/h just before 7pm local time when two of its tyres burst, prompting the pilots to engage the emergency brakes.
Emergency services swiftly arrived at the scene, and crew members deployed firefighting foam as a precautionary measure. Melbourne Airport reported that, due to the damage to the aircraft’s tires, the plane could not be towed from the runway, necessitating on-site repairs.
All 289 passengers aboard the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner were safely evacuated and rebooked onto a replacement flight, with no injuries reported. The incident caused minimal disruption to other airport operations, according to Melbourne Airport. Etihad Airways confirmed that the flight crew made the decision to reject take-off for technical reasons.
