By Hudson Sangree and Cathy Locke
hsangree@sacbee.com
Two tires of a Southwest Airlines jetliner failed and caught fire during takeoff tonight at Sacramento International Airport.
Emergency crews responded to the airport, according to regional fire dispatch.
The Boeing 737 sat on a runway to the west of the airport terminals.
Passengers safely exited the plane and were transported to another area of the airport.
Katie McDonald, a spokeswoman for Southwest Airlines, said in an email that Flight 2287 with 130 passengers aboard aborted a take-off and ruptured two tires. The fire department sprayed down the aircraft as a precautionary measure to cool the brakes.
All the passengers are OK, she said, and will be placed on another flight tonight.
The Southwest jet was on its way to Seattle, with a scheduled 6:05 p.m. departure from Terminal B.
McDonald said the plane was a Boeing 737 with five crew members on board.
Laurie Slothower, spokeswoman for Sacramento International Airport, said no one was injured. Passengers were evacuated from the aircraft and taken back to the terminal.
Although one runway was closed because of the incident, it was not affecting other flights arriving or leaving the airport, she said.
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