American Airlines plane loses tire during takeoff, fire ignites on Florida runway

An American Airlines plane blew a tire upon takeoff and caught fire in Florida on Wednesday, the latest of multiple such incidents. The flight, which was taking off from Tampa and headed Phoenix, was delayed after the "mechanical issue" on the runway right before takeoff, airline spokesman Alfredo Garduño told USA TODAY on Wednesday. The issue, according to Garduño, involved Boeing 737-800 tires. Emergency responders responded to the scene just before 8 a.m. after receiving word that a tire had blown off and caught on fire, Tampa International Airport spokesman Joshua Gillin told the Tampa Bay Times. Everyone on board, including 174 passengers and six crew members, were "safely deplaned and were bussed to the terminal," Garduño said. No other flight operations were affected by the incident, the Times reported. All passengers were rebooked on other flights to Phoenix. "We never want to disrupt our customers' travel plans and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused," Garduño said.<br/>