Flight spends 2 hours circling Edmonton after landing gear damaged

A Swoop plane landed back in Edmonton after it sustained damage during takeoff on Monday, July 4, 2022. (Credit: jd.aviation/Facebook)

An Edmonton flight bound for Halifax never made it to its destination after landing gear sustained damage during takeoff Monday afternoon.

Swoop Flight WO 264, with 189 travellers and six crew members, was to depart Edmonton at 12:55 p.m. and arrive in Halifax approximately five hours later.

During takeoff, a tire on one of the landing gear of the Boeing 737-800 twin-jet was damaged, Swoop told CTV News.

"Out of an abundance of caution, our pilots diverted the flight back to Edmonton and held in-flight for approximately two hours to burn off excess fuel required for landing within appropriate weight thresholds," said Kelsey Trainor, Swoop spokesperson.

The aircraft landed safely and was able to return to the gate without incident, Trainor added. It has now been removed from service for maintenance and inspection.

Flight WO 264 and the return trip of the same aircraft to Edmonton later Monday night, WO 265, were cancelled the airline said, with travellers rebooked on "the next available" Swoop or WestJet flight.

"The safety of our travellers and crew is our top priority," Trainor said. "We sincerely apologize to our travellers for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans."

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Kyra Markov