6 days Ago By Aaron Bailey
An inbound Southwest Airlines flight from Phoenix to Los Angeles encountered a burst tire as it touched down at California's busiest airport. Burst tire on touchdown Southwest Airlines flight WN1011 departed from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) on Wednesday, December 11, pushing back at 12:21. The flight departed from Phoenix easterly before circling south around the greater Phoenix metropolitan area before heading towards Los Angeles.
WN1011, flight otherwise operated as usual, climbing to its cruising altitude of 32,000 feet for the one-hour flight before starting its descent into LAX over Joshua Tree. It landed at Los Angeles International Airport runway 25L at 12:22 local time. According to Aviation Herald's report , the Boeing 737-700 aircraft bearing registration N7831B, serial number 32752, encountered a burst tire on its landing at Los Angeles International Airport.
The FAA released this statement: "Aircraft on landing blew a tire and debris damaged undercarriage, Los Angeles, CA." What happens when a tire burst during landing or take-off? Let's find out! Get all the latest airline route news right here N7831B is now back in service The aircraft at the center of the incident, as per ch-Aviation , is a 21.1-year-old Southwest Boeing 737-700, which joined the low-cost carriers fleet on October 10, 2015, after operating for Canadian carrier (as C-FWCC), WestJet from June 2003 until it transferred south to Southwest.
The aircraft is currently configured in all economy class seating for 143 passengers and is powered by two CFMI CFM56-7B24 engines. Following the incident in Los Angeles, the carrier's LAX maintenance team took the aircraft out of service for inspection. It remained out of action on Thursday, December 12, and returned to service on Friday, December 13, operating as WN8504 to San Jose del Cabo (SJD), according to Flightradar24 .
How do pilots handle a burst tire? Pilots are well-trained to handle a number of emergencies or incidents in flight. Suppose a tire is to burst on the aircraft as it comes into land. In that case, the pilot will continue to focus on maintaining the aircraft directional control while attempting to decelerate safely.
Once the aircraft has come to a complete stop, it will move to taxi safely to a designated area at the airport for necessary inspection and maintenance. Aircraft tires are subjected to rapid temperature fluctuations and, on landing, experience significant shear force. Improper tire inflation can sometimes exacerbate the stress, leading to compression breaks.
However, the common reason for a burst tire is foreign object debris or wear and tear. Airport staff are also deployed to inspect the runway for debris or damage. During all scenarios, pilots will communicate directly with respective air traffic control and ground crew to ensure that the incident can be managed safely and effectively, ensuring minimal disruption to other flights and overall safety for all passengers and crew onboard.
Numerous design features aid aircraft in minimizing the likelihood of tire bursts, including high inflation pressure. This is significantly higher than usual tires, at around 200psi, which enhances their load-bearing capacity. Other features include nitrogen inflation, which is less reactive and decreases the chances of combustion.
The tires are also designed with modern construction, built to withstand immense pressure and temperatures experienced in day-to-day operations. Flights can operate with a burst tire on take-off While tire bursts are more common than you may think, they don't necessarily mean the aircraft requires an emergency landing. An example was earlier this year when a Skywest Bombardier CRJ-900 operating under the Delta Connection brand blew a tire during its takeoff roll at Grand Rapids.
The aircraft continued the takeoff and landed safely at its destination airport without further incident. However, in some situations, it can cause the aircraft to abort its landing, such as when an American Airlines Boeing 737 had to reject its takeoff in Tampa, Florida , after it blew its tires. The incident was caught on camera on a YouTube channel, showing the damage to the tires as the plane stopped before fire trucks reached the scene.
The incident took place following a domestic flight..
