An All Nippon Airways passenger plane aborted its domestic flight and returned to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Monday night. The carrier says the plane’s tires most likely clipped a light on the runway during takeoff.
ANA flight 639 was bound for Iwakuni Kintaikyo Airport in the western prefecture of Yamaguchi. It left Haneda at around 8:50 p.m. but returned about one hour later for inspections. None of the 168 passengers or six crew members were injured.
The pilot had told air traffic control about a possible collision with a runway light. Airport staff later found shattered glass on the runway.
Inspections of the aircraft found the fuselage and wings intact, but both front tires were damaged.
The flight was canceled, along with a scheduled ANA flight from Iwakuni to Haneda on Tuesday morning.
ANA says it is deeply sorry for causing inconvenience and concern to passengers and all other parties involved.
AloJapan.com