Passengers and crew aboard an Air India Kuwait-Goa-Chennai flight had a narrow escape when the aircraft's front nose wheel tyres burst on landing at Dabolim airport on Tuesday morning.

The Airbus A320 managed to clear the runway and move into the taxiway. Passengers were deplaned in just over 10 minutes. Authorities also rushed safety and rescue vehicles to the site.

"Luckily, it was not raining when the flight was landing or conditions on the runway would have been slippery," sources added.

The mishap occurred at 7:35 a.m.. "The two front nose wheels burst and were worn out with the friction," sources said.

While the aircraft's main wheel assembly line in the middle takes the weight on landing, the four wheel assembly line (including two in front and two a few feet back) help it to taxi along the runway.

Pilot captain K J M Reddy and co-pilot Ankit Shah sought help from naval air traffic control to inspect the aircraft.

While 68 Goa-bound passengers disembarked at Dabolim, 37 passengers waiting to proceed to Chennai were brought to the civilian enclave. "There were 63 passengers waiting to board the plane to Chennai," sources said. The Chennai-bound passengers were shifted to hotels in Vasco.

Air India made alternative arrangements to facilitate the passengers' transit to Chennai. "Those passengers who wanted to fly early were accommodated on other flights proceeding to Mumbai and Bangalore," a source said.

The aircraft did not suffer any major damage, besides the front wheel assembly and tyres being totally burnt out. The runway also received some dents due to friction of the wheel assembly. Sources said this was superficial.

Naval authorities inspected the runway and operations continued throughout the day. "No flights were affected by the mishap," sources said.

The director general of civil aviation (DGCA) has initiated an inquiry into the accident. "It is a matter of procedure and a DGCA official, who flew in from Mumbai, will certify if the aircraft is airworthy," sources said.

The aircraft took off to Chennai at 8:15 p.m. with 128 passengers on board, sources said.