The Cyril E. King Airport’s only runway was closed today at 2:30 p.m. for a little over two hours after an aircraft owned by Fly the Whale developed a flat tire and ran off the runway. Virgin Islands Port Authority Executive Director Carlton Dowe said that the pilot and four passengers onboard the aircraft were not injured. The incident delayed several inbound and outbound flights as the airline waited for a replacement tire to be flown from its hub in St. Croix to the St. Thomas airport before the aircraft could be removed. The King Airport reopened and resumed normal airport operations at 4:40 p.m.
Dowe said, “We are thankful that everyone onboard was unharmed. However, the long waiting time for the replacement part caused several delays and this is unacceptable. We will be meeting with all commuter airlines to discuss their operations to make sure they are prepared to quickly handle these types of situations at our airports.”
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