Passengers on a flight out of Algeria had a lucky escape after two of its tires burst during takeoff, snapping a propeller that then shattered a window.
The Bombardier DHC-8-402Q Dash 8 was departing the Rhourd Enous Airfield with 45 passengers on Saturday when both tires on one of its two wheels suddenly gave out, photos shows.
Debris from one of the popped tires is believed to have struck a propeller and broken off the blade tip, which then ricocheted into a passenger window.
The window was smashed open — and left a perfect view of the busted propeller, photos from the scene showed.
The pilots managed to shut down the engine and made a safe emergency landing back at the airfield.
None of the 45 people on board the turboprop flight were injured during the bizarre incident.
“The crew managed the situation skillfully, following standard procedures to return and land on the same runway without any damage or panic,” Tassili Airlines said in a statement.
The travelers were eventually shuttled to their destination on another aircraft.
The passengers are believed to have been workers from Sonatrach, Algeria’s state-owned oil company.
