Palm from Palma makes emergency landing in Rome

A plane carrying more than 130 holidaymakers from t Majorca made an emergency landing at Rome's Fiumicino airport early yesterday after losing one of its main wheels, airport officials said. The Boeing 737 with 135 passengers and seven crew on board, chartered by Italian charter carrier Blue Panorama Airlines, landed at Fiumicino's emergency runway at around 2:30 a.m. (0030 GMT). No one was hurt and the plane was not damaged, an air traffic control tower official told Reuters. The pilot alerted Rome air traffic control that the plane had lost one of the two wheels of the main undercarriage on the right side of the plane soon after takeoff from Palma airport. The plane ditched its remaining fuel over the sea before landing on the runway, which was surrounded by fire and rescue vehicles and other emergency services. Blue Panorama said in a statement a cushioning pad behind the wheel appeared to have blocked, causing the wheel to come off. It said it was making further checks with the aid of experts from its technical partner Lufthansa. “Blue Panorama thanks the pilot Claudio Bernacchia, the first officer and the cabin crew for the coolness and professionalism (they displayed),” it said.