Kralendijk- A flat tire on a Medicair Ambulance Learjet on Thursday afternoon into the early evening caused quite a delay at Flamingo Airport.

The Learjet most probably damaged one of its tires on the left landing gear on take-off from Curaçao Airport. On landing at Bonaire International Airport the other tire could not support the full weight of the airplane, and subsequently blew out.

Due to the circumstances the plane could not easily be moved from the runway. “It took us about 4 hours to get the tires changed and the jet off the Runway”, said Medicair director René Winkel.

The incident caused KLM’s flight to Aruba and Amsterdam to be cancelled as the crew passed their flying hours. The Tui flight to Amsterdam was able to operate but with a few hours delay.

According to Winkel, an investigation in exactly what caused the first tire to get damaged is still ongoing. Winkel said he was grateful to assistance from the Fire Department who assisted to lift up the plane sufficiently for both tires to be replaced.

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