A Canada-bound flight aborted takeoff at Denver International Airport on Thursday afternoon after two tires blew out, forcing passengers to deplane onto the runway, according to air traffic recordings.
WestJet officials confirmed there was an issue involving a flight headed to Calgary, Alberta, Canada, in an emailed statement, but did not detail what happened on board.
The incident happened at around 12:30 p.m., airport spokesperson Ashley Forest said. No one was injured, and Forest referred all other questions to WestJet.
Flight 1571 was scheduled to depart Denver International Airport for Calgary at 12:15 p.m. Thursday, . The plane left the gate at 12:08 p.m., but never finished taxiing.
According to recordings of radio communication between air traffic controllers and the pilot shared on ATC.com, the airplane’s two left main gear tires blew out during takeoff. The tires were smoking, but there were no visible flames after the incident, controllers said on the recording.
The Denver Police Department declined to comment on the incident and referred questions to the airport and WestJet. The Denver Fire Department also referred questions to the airport.
