Air Canada plane makes emergency landing in Spain’s Madrid airport

An Air Canada plane that was circling Spain’s capital after experiencing “engine issues” shortly after takeoff has safely landed in Madrid, according to authorities.

It landed in Madrid’s Barajas airport “without incident” at 7:15 pm local (1:15 pm ET) on Monday, airport operator Aena said on Twitter.

The Boeing 767-300 — which carried 128 passengers — experienced problems shortly after takeoff on Monday afternoon, Air Canada said in a statement

The Canadian flag carrier said flight AK837 was circling around Madrid “to use up fuel and lighten the aircraft for landing.”

“A tire also reportedly ruptured on take-off,” Air Canada said in a statement, adding that the tire is “one of 10” on the plane.

“The aircraft, a Boeing 767-300, is designed to operate on one engine and our pilots are fully trained for this eventuality. Nonetheless, an emergency was declared in order to obtain landing priority,” it said.

According to Spain’s main pilot union, Sepla, the flight lost part of its landing gear, which then entered its engine. Air Canada did not respond to CNN’s question about this.

Drone incursion

Drone sightings caused the airport to briefly shut its airspace earlier on Monday, but the airport has re-opened since the drone incident.

The airport’s operator Aena said on Twitter that the Barajas was “prepared to receive” the flight destined for Toronto.

Firefighters were deployed as a preventative measure, according to the Twitter account of the regional government-run emergency service.

In 2018, a drone incursion at London’s Gatwick Airport caused travel chaos for tens of thousands of passengers.

Despite a wide-ranging operation and a £50,000 (about $65,500) reward, authorities have still been unable to find the person behind the drone attack.