Passenger jet from Germany lands safely in Israel with ruptured wheel
IAF jets scramble to escort Bulgarian-owned Beoing 737 carrying 152 people after airport authorities in Cologne discover parts of landing gear wheel on runway after takeoff
There were no injuries reported in the landing by the aircraft, which belongs to Bulgarian charter company Electra Airways, at Ben-Gurion International Airport.
After the plane carrying 152 passengers and crew took off from Cologne, staff at the airport found parts of one of its tires on the ground.
The authorities in Germany updated the control tower at Ben-Gurion International Airport upon finding parts of the tire on the runway in Cologne.
As a result, the Israel Airports Authority announced that Ben-Gurion would be going to emergency level 3. Israel Air Force F-16s were scrambled to escort the Bulgarian plane for an emergency landing and the IAF crew noticed that the passenger plane's left tire on the landing gear had been ripped.
Ben-Gurion dispatched multiple members of the emergency services, including ambulance personnel, police, firefighters and the IDF to secure the landing.
Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv also prepared to receive passengers, even relocating existing patients.
"As part of the preparations for the emergency landing at Ben-Gurion Airport, a pair of Sufa (F-16) fighter planes were escorted from the plane's entry into the Israeli air space," said the IDF Spokesperson's Unit.
"The pilots inspected the condition of the wheels and identified a rupture in the rear left wheel of the aircraft."
The head of the Magen David Adom rescue service Eli Bin said before the plane landed that the organization mobilized for a mass casualty event.
"Upon receiving the alert hours before the plane lands, we prepared more than 100 ambulances, intensive care vehicles and MDA motorcycles manned by hundreds of medics and paramedics," Bin said.
"We are in full coordination with the Israel Airports Authority, the Israel Police, the fire department and the IDF, and everyone is prepared. The MDA teams are trained and organized for such an event, and we hope that the plane lands safely and there is no need for the treatment of our teams."
