9V-MBF 737-8 MAX Tyre Burst on Landing
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On 3 Dec 2021, 737-8 MAX, 9V-MBF (44250/7403), FF 18/02/2019 (3 Years old), operated by Singapore Airlines suffered a tyre failure whilst landing at Singapore. The aircraft had been despatched with Antiskid and Autobrake systems inoperative as per the MEL.
The first landing of the day was at PNH. The speedbrakes were deployed by selection of reverse thrust and the landing and rollout were normal.
The second landing was at SIN, the crew aimed for a soft landing. The speedbrakes did not deploy with selection of reverese becuase the air/ground sensors were still sensing “AIR”. Manual braking was applied before the speedbrakes were deployed this caused the L MLG wheels to lock. A flat spot developed and the tyre eventually burst.
The flight crew’s action of selecting reverse thrust for speedbrakes deployment did not follow the MEL requirements of manually deploying the speedbrakes for the landings in PNH and SIN.
On 01 Dec 2022 the Singapore TSIB issued the final report, available here.
Synopsis
On 3 December 2021, at about 1436LT, a Boeing 737-8 (MAX) aircraft while landing at Changi Airport Runway 02L suffered tyre damage to both its wheels on the left main landing gear. The pilots did not notice any anomalies during the landing and the tyre damage was only discovered after the aircraft arrived at the parking bay.
Conclusion
The damage to left MLG wheels was caused by skidding. The wheels skidded because the left MLG wheels were locked during the landing. The locking of the left MLG wheels was due to a brake application on the left MLG wheels by the SFO before the manual deployment of speedbrakes to ensure the aircraft weight was on the MLGs. The brake pressure acting on the left MLG wheels was sufficient to result in the locked-wheel situation.
For the landing in PNH, the speedbrakes were deployed after reverse thrust selection. Subsequently, aircraft brakes were applied after the air/ground sensors were sensing "GROUND" (i.e. the aircraft had landed), and there were no locked-wheel situations and skidding of wheels.
For the landing in SIN, although reverse thrust was selected, the speedbrakes did not automatically deploy as the air/ground sensors were still sensing “AIR” when the SFO was performing a gentle landing. Aircraft brakes were applied and this caused the left MLG wheels to lock. Subsequently, the locked wheels skidded on the runway and damaged the left MLG tyres.
The flight crew’s action of selecting reverse thrust for speedbrakes deployment did not follow the MEL requirements of manually deploying the speedbrakes for the landings in PNH and SIN.
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*** Updated 05 Aug 2023 ***
