County : Airport Runway Closed by Plane Blowing Tire

Commercial traffic at John Wayne Airport was disrupted for 30 minutes Sunday after a small plane blew a tire on landing and blocked a runway, authorities said.

Rich Tornquist, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Los Angeles, said commercial airliners that had been on landing approach had to veer off and circle the Orange County airport when the runway was closed at 3:15 p.m.

He said the problem was caused when a Cessna 172 blew a tire while landing. The plane sat on the edge of the runway and could not be moved until its tire was changed, he said, adding that the runway was closed “for 25, maybe 30 minutes.”

“It was not a dangerous situation,” Tornquist said. “Some of the planes that were approaching had to change course and circle for a while, but everything was under control.”