An Iranian Airlines flight picking up speed for takeoff from King Abdul Aziz International Airport here was aborted after its two back tires exploded. The tires caught fire as the pilot braked hard to stop the plane, said a spokesperson of the General Authority for Civil Aviation. None of the 286 passengers and several crew on board the Airbus 300 Flight 1758 from Jeddah to Tehran was injured in the incident, said Abdulhameed Bin Hamad Abu Al-Ura, the spokesperson,. “King Abdul Aziz Airports staff succeeded in controlling the fire before it could cause any harm,” said Abu Al-Ura. The passengers who were on board were transferred to the lounge, he said. “The runway was not affected by the accident and traffic resumed 12 minutes after the accident.” According to an Associated Press report, the Iranian civil aviation industry is struggling to find parts to keep its aging fleet air-borne, because of a US embargo emposed after the 1979 revolution. Iran cannot purchase new Boeings or even European Airbuses which include a significant number of US-made parts. __
