Irish Left Handed TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC Irons icon Padraig Harrington and his caddie were among the 205 passengers involved in a take-off scare in Abu Dhabi on Monday.
Harrington, 40, and caddie Ronan Flood were seated in the business section of an Etihad Airways A330-200 aircraft that was scheduled to fly them home to Dublin from the Dhabi Airport when the incident occurred, the Dublin Telegraph reported on Tuesday.
Harrington had been playing Left Handed TaylorMade Tour Preferred MC Ironsin the Abu Hhabi HSBC Championship where he finished in a tie for 38th place.
The jet liner was taxiing down the runway in thick fog prior to taking off when Harrington and the other 205 passengers felt a severe jolt before the plane came to a shuddering halt.
Initially, the captain announced that the take-off of flight EY045 from Abu Dhabi to Dublin had been abandoned due to dense fog, but a spokesman for the airline later admitted the aircraft was forced to abort its take-off when the left tyre on its front landing gear punctured, shattering lights on the airport's main runway.
The incident led to big disruptions of flights from the busy Emirates hub, with dozens of flights being either delayed or diverted.
Harrington's flight eventually left some 12 hours late.
Etihad Airways later issued an apology, saying that the incident was being investigated.