Passengers report that Latam plane had faults since before taking off from Rionegro

On the afternoon of last Tuesday, March 29, there was a frightening emergency with a plane in Rioengro, Antioquia. The aircraft landed in an emergency at José María Córdova airport after presenting a problem with one of the wheels.

The emergency occurred when the CC-BAS registered aircraft operating flight LA4292 on the Medellin - Cartagena route presented a problem with one of the nose train wheels during takeoff.

Faced with this situation, the commander and crew decided to fly over the airport area to consume fuel and declared themselves in an emergency, so they were given priority for landing, which was finally given at 15:12 local time, as confirmed by Latam Airlines Colombia in a statement.

A video recorded the moment when the plane lands and you can see that the tire is on fire when it touches the runway. Likewise, videos of the distressing moment that the passengers of the aircraft went through were released on social networks.

Despite the fact that this situation was described as a last-minute emergency, some users in Latam claimed that possible irregularities with the plane had already been warned before taking off.

The irregularities that alerted the passengers of the plane

According to information from Blu Radio, one of the passengers on that flight assured that the personnel in charge had already been consulted about the faults that the aircraft might have. According to the passenger, there were several irregularities that users noticed before boarding.

First, the user reported that the flight was scheduled for 10:58 a.m.; however, it was postponed to noon due to alleged weather problems in Pereira, where the plane was initially involved.

Following that, when the aircraft was already at the José María Córdova airport, located in Rionegro, Antioquia, the terminal fire department would have unexpectedly gone to check the front of the plane.

This situation alerted the passengers, according to the user who spoke with the aforementioned broadcaster, so they consulted with those in charge about the possible problems the plane was having. Despite the claims, the staff of the airline in charge would have assured that there was no fault that passengers had to worry about.

“However, that's how they put us on the plane because we were upset since this morning. After 20 minutes the captain tells us that we have to return,” added the citizen who was destined for the city of Cartagena.

Reopening of the airport

After more than 12 hours of being out of service, which affected hundreds of passengers departing or about to arrive in Medellin, the José María Córdova airport in Rionegro became operational again at 4:18 on Wednesday morning.

The air terminal announced this through its official Twitter account where they reported that the Latam plane that suffered an accident on the runway was removed, allowing activities to resume.

“The Latam aircraft has already been towed. The necessary inspections were carried out on the runway to ensure operational safety on the upcoming flights, according to adjustments in the itineraries scheduled by the airlines. We are operating again,” they said.

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