An Aeroitalia Boeing 737-800 carrying 182 passengers and six crew members landed safely at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport on Aug. 24 with a shredded tire after the aircraft struck foreign object debris on the runway during takeoff from Cagliari-Elmas Airport in Sardinia, the airline confirmed.
Flight XZ 2336 departed Cagliari-Elmas at 12:05 p.m. local time bound for Fiumicino, a route that typically takes about 45 minutes. The aircraft did not touch down until roughly 1:45 p.m., nearly an hour behind schedule, after crew members opted to burn off fuel in the air to reduce the plane’s weight before landing.
Cagliari Runway FOD Confirmed as Cause
Airport sources at Cagliari-Elmas told Italian media that fragments of tire turned up on the runway pavement shortly after the jet departed, corroborating the airline’s account of the cause.
In a statement carried by Italian news outlets, Aeroitalia said an initial analysis attributed the tire damage to “the presence of a foreign object (in technical terms, Foreign Object Debris) on the runway at Cagliari airport, which caused the puncture during the takeoff phase.” The carrier added that technical inspections after landing found no other anomalies or malfunctions related to the aircraft itself, according to Italian news agency ANSA.
Passengers described an unsettling flight. A journalist for the Agi news agency who was aboard reported that the aircraft felt “unstable and unbalanced” soon after takeoff, and that an oxygen mask compartment above some seats had popped open during the climb, according to Corriere della Sera’s Rome edition. The seatbelt sign stayed illuminated for the entire flight.
Once over Fiumicino, the crew held for roughly an hour to burn off the fuel described above, and airport operator Aeroporti di Roma said emergency crews were alerted and staged as soon as the damage was identified after departure from Cagliari.
Fire crews met the aircraft on the runway. Rather than taxi the jet to a gate on a damaged wheel, firefighters directed passengers to deplane using stairs directly onto the taxiway, a decision made after assessing the condition of the landing gear, Aeroporti di Roma said.
The aircraft’s landing gear reportedly remained extended rather than retracting after takeoff, a precaution that may have limited further damage to the wheel assembly during the flight, Corriere reported.
Aeroitalia apologized for the disruption. “The airline regrets the inconvenience and the understandable moments of apprehension experienced by passengers, and reaffirms that the safety of its passengers and crew is the company’s top priority,” the carrier said in its statement.
Sogaer, the company that manages Cagliari-Elmas Airport, said it was awaiting further review from the relevant authorities regarding the debris on the runway. No formal investigation announcement from Italy’s civil aviation authority (ENAC) or air safety agency (ANSV) had been issued as of this report.
Meanwhile, the incident adds to a string of recent runway-debris tire failures affecting commercial flights this year. O’Hare International Airport logged its fifth tire failure in two weeks in a separate incident that prompted an FAA review of runway debris controls, while two aircraft there suffered blown tires within five days of each other earlier this year.
Overall, tire failures caused by runway debris remain among the most common FOD-related incidents worldwide. Fragments as small as a bolt, a broken pavement chip, or debris shed by another aircraft can slice through reinforced rubber at the speeds reached during takeoff roll, sometimes forcing crews to manage fuel loads or divert before attempting to land.
No injuries were reported among the passengers or crew aboard the Aeroitalia flight.
Sources
- ANSA — “Momenti di paura sul volo Cagliari Roma per uno pneumatico forato” (Aug. 24, 2026)
- Corriere della Sera (Roma) — “Volo Cagliari-Roma, paura a bordo” (Aug. 24, 2026)
- L’Unione Sarda — “Paura sul volo Cagliari-Roma, aereo atterra con un pneumatico squarciato” (Aug. 24, 2026)
- Sky TG24 — “Volo Aeroitalia Cagliari-Fiumicino atterra con pneumatico squarciato” (Aug. 24, 2026)
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