Bhopal, June 9 (IANS) Three dozen passengers of a Hyderabad-bound Jet Airways flight had a miraculous escape here Wednesday morning when the nose wheel of the aircraft came off just as it was taxiing towards the runway, an airport official said.

Bhopal airport director J.P. Alax said: "The nose wheel of the aircraft came out. The takeoff was aborted by the pilot. The aircraft is still in the parking bay and men and machinery would be arriving soon to solve the problem."

An airport source said: "The Hyderabad-bound flight that arrived here at 9.05 a.m. and was scheduled to depart at 9.35 a.m. was cancelled and its three dozen passengers were accommodated in other flights."

The airlines, however, said the flight was cancelled due to "technical snag". A Jet Airways spokesperson also denied reports that the aircraft's nose wheel had broken.

"It was a technical snag that was reported in the plane that had arrived here from Ahmedabad and was on its way to Hyderabad via Raipur. The aircraft was taken for inspection at the parking bay," she said.