American Airlines flight bound for Dallas makes early-morning emergency landing at Reno-Tahoe

American Airlines flight 1266 bound for Dallas Fort Worth had to make an emergency landing at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport this morning after the aircraft reported it had "blown a tire" and landing gear issues during takeoff, according to airport spokesperson Brian Kulpin.

The Boeing 737-800 jet took off from Reno shortly after 1 a.m. and circled the airport for about an hour to burn fuel before safely setting back down at 2:31 a.m., according to American Airlines.

There were about 169 passengers and crew onboard the aircraft and no injuries were reported.

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"Thank goodness the aircraft made a beautiful landing," Kulpin said. "Everybody was safe and sound ... it was a happy ending for everybody." 

The incident triggered what's called an "alert 2" at the airport, which readied the airport fire department, Reno Fire Department and REMSA in case the incident escalated into an emergency situation. 

The incident closed runways at Reno-Tahoe for a brief period this morning, but Kulpin said the runways have reopened and airport operations are back to normal.

There are currently no delays stemming from the incident. 

Passengers were taken off the aircraft via bus and transported back to the terminal, where American is booking them on other flights or putting them up in hotels. The carrier is also flying in a replacement aircraft. 

"We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans, and we are sorry for the trouble this has caused," American said in a statement. "Our maintenance team is currently inspecting the aircraft."

In February of this year, a Delta flight en route from California to Washington State made an emergency landing at Reno-Tahoe after several passengers were injured by severe turbulence mid-flight. 

Five passengers were injured during that incident, with three needing care at a local hospital. 

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Sam Gross is a breaking news reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal who covers wildfires, emergencies and more. Support his work by subscribing to RGJ.com right here.