Mexican passenger jet blows 2 tires, lands safely

MEXICO CITY — A domestic passenger jet landed safely at the Mexico City airport Thursday despite blowing two tires on its landing gear as it touched down.

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Airport spokesman Victor Mejia said the plane came close to running off the landing strip but was able to move onto a taxi-way under control. None of the 48 passengers or five crew members on board the Boeing 737 were injured.

The Aviacsa airlines flight originated in the southern city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, bound for the capital.

The government briefly grounded Aviacsa in June over safety concerns, citing issues such as insufficient staff to inspect planes, but the airline quickly won a court injunction allowing it to fly again.

The Communications and Transportation Department said in a statement that the plane involved in Thursday's incident was one of 25 Aviacsa aircraft cited in the shutdown order.

A listing on the Web site Airframes.org for the plane's registration code, XA-UCG, indicates the plane was built in 1982.

Phone calls to Aviacsa's offices at the airport went unanswered Thursday night.