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Courtesy Jimmy Diffee
Southwest Airlines Flight 513 blew three tires during an aborted takeoff from Denver International Airport on Monday afternoon.
A Southwest Airlines jet blew three tires Monday afternoon as the pilot aborted a takeoff from Denver because of a fire warning light in the cockpit.
The Las Vegas-bound Boeing 737 carried a full load of 137 passengers and five crew members. No one was injured.
Three buses were sent onto the runway to retrieve the evacuated passengers, and another plane was slated to take them to Las Vegas, Denver NBC station KUSA-TV reported.
Southwest spokeswoman Olga Romero told The Denver Post that the plane's rapid deceleration caused the jet's brakes to overheat and led to the tires blowing out. She credited the pilot with heeding the warning light.
"There was no fire," Romero added. "Procedurally, the pilot had to stop the flight. He made the right decision to ensure everything was safe."
On Monday evening, mechanics were trying to determine why the light came on, Romero said.
Airport spokeswoman Cyndi Karvaski told the Post that it was common for brakes to overheat and tires to blow out when a pilot stops a plane quickly before takeoff.
The incident was the second in as many days involving blown tires on a commercial flight.
On Sunday, a United Express commuter plane from western New York blew four tires as it landed at Newark Liberty International Airport and veered off a runway.
The plane was carrying eight passengers and five crew members. No one was hurt.
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At last a flight crew paying attention and doing it right. The story is correct, in saying that it's not that unusual for heavy braking to cause blowouts. They probably blew after the plane came to a stop - again, not unusual. The brakes keep feeding their heat to the tires even after the stop - with a risk of blown tires or even actual fire.
Yes, i'd rather be delayed to a vacation than finding out that the plane I am on is on fire after being 30k feet up.
I remember being told in training to move away from the tires after evacuating an aircraft in case they catch fire. It's a known threat.
Several years ago I was on a flight that blew out the hydraulics in the landing gear when we touched down in San Diego. The hydraulic fluid them hit the hot brakes and started smoking. The next thing we knew the plane was being surrounded by fire crews in hazmat suits dousing the landing gear. Thankfully San Diego is a small airport and the fire crew response was very quick. They were on us almost as soon as we cleared the runway. Apparently the hydraulic fluid they use is toxic, or at least the fumes are. Once they got the heat dissipated and the landing gear stopped smoking they towed the plane over to the far side of the airport and took us off using stairs and bussed us over to the terminal. They would not allow the plane up to a gate even after the emergency had passed, I guess because of the hydraulic fluid still leaking. I remember waiting forever for us to to get our luggage off the flight. I do give the airport and airline (US Air) credit for how well they handled the emergency though. Also, the pilot was very good about keeping us informed of what was going on. They got buses over and got us off the plane fairly quickly. The only negative was the wait for our luggage. Problems with landing gear are far more common than most people know and than the airlines want to admit.
This week is "National Aircraft Tire Failure" week ... (NATF)
don't be alarmed ... congress is not holding hearing ...... yet ...
(Please don't confuse this with NAFTA ....)
I'd much rather have overheated but working brakes and blown tires than brakes that don't work and fully inflated tires.
This is exactly what is supposed to happen. A pilot can abort a takeoff anytime prior to decision speed (V1, Go, etc. all airplanes call it something different) and then get on the brakes and reversers (if available). The brakes will get hot, guaranteed. The tires are designed to blow at a lower temperature through plugs in the tire causing only damage to the tire. This prevents the tire from getting so hot that they blow catastropically causing damage to the airplane.
If it isn't guns it's about something being aborted, this morning. (sigh)
Chinese tires.
Hats off to the flight deck crew.
You bet!
Where were those tires manufactured??????
I work for a company that manufactures aircraft brakes. We run rejected take-off tests in our lab and the tires blow just about every time. It's the most extreme condition a brake can endure (high speed plus short stopping distance). Usually, the brakes (and sometimes the wheels) melt into a big mess. This is a good thing -- it definitely makes the plane stop. :)
...where rotating discs dissipate heat then yes, that's a perfect world - as long as lockup didn't occur.
Technically, the fuse plugs blow out, as they are designed to when a certain pressure is reached. Which is far safer than the entire tire reaching structural failure and exploding.
Wow! I did not know that!
Tire deflation is an expected event during aborted takeoff braking. Tires actually exploding is not normal.
The photo looks like the tires are just deflated.
An emergency stop with tire deflation is just one of the many tests that a new plane must undergo. When they do that test, they have a firetruck standing there, but they are not allowed to respond for a set period of time, which is the time that it would take at most airports for a truck to respond. There was a video of the new 747-8 going through that test no long back.
does it matter?, here a test with Dunlop tires manufacured in the USA, they are also part of Goodyear
Great crew. I wonder where their maintenance is done. So many have contracted maintenance in other countries.
Southwest maintains all of their planes in the U.S. where they fly....most maintenance takes place at their hub in Texas.
Southwest is awesome. They have one of the highest safety records. Good job crew!!
"Oh, cut the bleeding heart crap, will ya? We've all got our switches, lights, and knobs to deal with, Striker. I mean, down here there are literally hundreds and thousands of blinking, beeping, and flashing lights, blinking and beeping and flashing - they're *flashing* and they're *beeping*. I can't stand it anymore! They're *blinking* and *beeping* and *flashing*! Why doesn't somebody pull the plug!"
~ Murdock in the movie Airplane 2
Roger, roger.
Irony can be pretty ironic sometimes.
Surely, it's good news when nobody is hurt. I agree and don't call me Shirley!
A great movie!
I'm already such a nervous flyer, experiencing something like this would probably send me to the airport bar for the rest of the day. "Sorry honey, no Vegas vacation for me. I'm blowing our money on bourbon at the airport!". Kudos to the crew though. Nice work.
Airport bars are expensive, you may get 3 or 4 drinks without denting your vacation $$ too much.
Sooo the Author..tries to tie the Newark landing in with the Denver Take off...To imply what ??..That air travel is unsafe..?? That the planes are poorly maintained ?? The if man should fly he would have feathers ??? These are Machines...tools...to get man from one place to another..like a car...would the Author car to comment on how many Cars had problems..Yesterday ?? Now that would be a long piece
Note to airlines..........Stop buying Chinese tires.
See this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g6UswiRCF0
I was on a 747 coming from europe.....after a uneventful flight we landed in New York. During the landing a tire blew out and let me tell you it is a frightening experience. The boom is loud and for a moment your mind freezes.......all you can hear inside your head OH, OH WERE GONE! That took about 2 seconds.....cant imagine being in one that fall out of the sky from 30,ooo feet!
Afterwards, two of the tires asked for a cigarette and the third took a nap.
"Everytime they gotta jam on the brakes the tires blow"
Sounds a little primitive. Great time for a new invention, somebody'll make millions.
Um. Why was it braking if it was taking off?
Go back and READ the article! Reading comprehension 101!!! Dope!
Um. Why was it braking if it was taking off?
@ MNow..the takeoff was aborted. They needed to stop before running out of runway.
Good job Flight Crew.
Cockpit warning light saying "fire" and three blown tires.. aborted takeoff.. and no accidents, injuries or fatalities.
Textbook Well Done.
I hate to fly so I really hate hearing about these things!
How old is the 737? Is it a little past its engineered prime? Southwest is a great airline, but it does push its luck with low fares by pushing the outer limits on these airline leases. Time to turn this plane in and place it in the Great Arizona boneyard and lease a newer Boeing 737. I would rather pay a few bucks more per ticket than face an electronic malfunction at 38000 feet. Right now , the median temperature at 38000 feet in North America is -83 degrees F.
With proper maintenance, airplanes can fly indeffinitely. The Air Force flies airplanes 55 years old continually (B-52, KC-135) and you dont hear about them. This has nothing to do with cost of tickets, leases, age of airplanes, or temperature.
Aircraft hydraulics use a fluid called Skydrol, a phosphate ester based fluid that is highly toxic. I worked in the engineering test lab of a hydraulics company for many years and you did not want to get it on your skin if you could help it. Especially bad if you had it on your hands and had to use the bathroom.
The POTUS need to issue an executive order to the tires not to blow out They will be forced to obey
I had just arrived in Denver on a Southwest plane from Jacksonville. The passagers that were going on to Vegas were informed about the lay over. While waiting for another flight home, I noticed a grouds crew turn a plane that just arrived, around, updated and ready to go within 45min. The crew work methodically. I noticed that the plane was refueled immediatedly, while passengers were yet onboard, and a service tech under the landing hub by the front wheels. I give the pilots, the flight crew, and the ground crew members a lot of credit, and I would continue to pray for them, because they have such responsibility and risk, while doing a very rewarding, yet dangerous job. I praise God for being safe at home, when I read this, also. I could have been on that plane, instead of the one for Milwaukee. Some of you, who would rather joke and scarf at this incident, and other's remarks, may eat your sarcasm prior to finding yourself in an unfavorable situation in mid-air..... Be Smart, Blessed and Be Thankful. Amen.
A salute to the flight deck........and crew.........nice job ensuring the safety of the plane and passengers.....
The passenger list probably included the 'Biggest Loser' cast and it couldn't handle all that weight. Just kidding.
The second time in so many days ,same thing happened a t Newark Liberty the other day !!
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=50139381n