Emergency landing damages Hawaiian jet

TOKYO >> A runway was closed at one of Tokyo’s main airports Monday after a Hawaiian Airlines jet punctured its tires while making an emergency landing, forcing the cancellation of some domestic Japanese flights.

Four tires were deflated and four tires were damaged when a Honolulu-bound Airbus A330 returned to Haneda Airport after a display indicated a problem in the hydraulic system, Japanese media reported. None of the 280 passengers and 13 crew on board were injured, the reports said, but the plane remained on the runway after daybreak as workers replaced the tires.

Japan Airlines canceled some domestic flights and warned of the possibility of other flight disruptions. Haneda Airport said in a statement on its website that international flights had not been affected.

An aviation expert told Japanese public broadcaster NHK that the brakes might not have functioned properly if there were a hydraulic system problem, causing the blowouts.

Hawaiian issued a statement in which it said Flight 458 departed Haneda at 11:50 p.m. Sunday, but after takeoff the captain elected to return to the airport due to a low hydraulic fluid indicator. The aircraft landed safely at 1:32 a.m. Japan time. Customers were deplaned and bused to the terminal, and Hawaiian flew another aircraft to Haneda to continue their flight. The fight departed at about 8 p.m. local time Monday and arrived at about 8:45 a.m. Monday in Honolulu. The initial flight was scheduled to arrive at 12:55 p.m. Sunday.