By Suman Varandani - A US Airways plane’s nose gear collapsed during takeoff at Philadelphia International Airport Thursday evening with 154 passengers and crew on board, prompting the pilot to abort takeoff, media reported citing an airline spokesperson.
According to reports, there were no serious injuries although two passengers requested medical assistance, US Airways spokesperson William McGlashen said. Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said that two women from the plane were transported to the city's Methodist Hospital with minor injuries and mild sickness.
"Initial reports indicate Flight 1702 from Philadelphia to Fort Lauderdale (Florida) blew a tire on takeoff and the pilot elected to abort takeoff," McGlashen reportedly said. The plane's crew evacuated the passengers by having them slide down emergency chutes after the incident.
According to Reuters, airport spokesperson Victoria Lupica said that operations at the Philadelphia airport had been halted for some time but takeoffs and landings had since resumed and no incoming flights had to be diverted.
According to McGlashen, the National Transportation Safety Board will investigate the incident.
Dennis Fee, a passenger on the flight, posted a picture of the rescue in progress to his Facebook account that quickly went viral.
"So my plane just crashed," tweeted @han_horan, another passenger who posted a picture of the plane and a selfie in another tweet taken at the crash site. Yet another passenger too posted a picture of her at the crash site.