A photo posted on Reddit shows the jet's wheels stuck in the ground. Photo via Phillip Dugaw, Reddig user "pdugaw".
WASHINGTON -- A U.S. Airways flight at Reagan National Airport was delayed Friday after the jet's wheels sunk into the tarmac because of the excessive heat, the The Washington Post reports.
"It was apparently a soft spot caused by the heat," airline spokeswoman Michelle Mohr said, and the airplane "wouldn't move."
The temperature at Reagan National Airport outside Washington, D.C., reached 98 on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
In an attempt to move the plane, luggage was unloaded and the 35 passengers and three crewmembers were taken off the plane, Mohr said.
An electric tug cart was unable to free the jet from the tarmac and the crews had to bring in a much larger tug cart that pulled the airliner from its rut to a place where it could start its engines, the Post reports.
The incident is "pretty rare," Mohr said. But then, she noted, "we've also had very unusual temperatures."
The flight was delayed for about three hours before taking off for Charleston, S.C.