Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher suffers huge plane scare after emergency stop: 'One of the tyres burst'

Ralf Schumacher suffered a huge plane scare on Wednesday after his flight was forced into a 'hard emergency stop'.

The six-time grand prix winner with Williams was on the Lufthansa flight LH1264 from Frankfurt in Germany across to Salzburg in Austria that was scheduled to take off at 5.15pm and land an hour later.

However, on takeoff a tyre on the front landing gear burst at high speed while accelerating, forcing the quick acting pilots to abort the takeoff and perform an emergency stop.

No injuries were reported, as Schumacher recalled the incident on Instagram, noting the plan was grounded for an hour as emergency teams responded.

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Schumacher: We were at full speed

He said: "We were already on the runway, at full speed, and then one of the two front tyres burst.

"Then, of course, there was an emergency stop here in Frankfurt at the airport. The braking was very hard.

"Police, fire brigade, and all sorts of other emergency services arrived, of course"

Schumacher, who is the brother of seven-time F1 champion and legend Michael Schumacher was full of praise for the aircrew as well as Lufthansa.

He added: "The crew did a fantastic job. Everything was very, very good.

"So many thanks to Lufthansa. The way we were handled and received was fantastic, we were rebooked immediately. Everything was perfect, thank you."

It wasn't all without issue for Schumacher though, who admitted, that his dinner plans had been scuppered.

He joked: "Well, I'll still get home, of course two or three hours later. Dinner won't be possible, but never mind."

Lufthansa issue statement

A Lufthansa spokesperson told GPFans: "On October 28, the departure of Lufthansa Flight LH1264 from Frankfurt to Salzburg was aborted due to a burst tire.

"The flight crew made this decision in accordance with standard operating procedures.

"All 153 passengers and crew members on board are safe and well. The passengers were taken back to the terminal and immediately rebooked onto alternative flights.

"We apologise to our guests for the inconvenience. The safety of our passengers and crew is Lufthansa’s top priority."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ralf Schumacher (@ralfschumacher_rsc)

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Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

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