MI - Jet blows tires, skids off runway at TC airport

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August 17, 2001 Jet blows tires, skids off runway at TC airport - Plane stopped about 100 feet from South Airport Road; no one injured in incident By BILL ECHLIN Record-Eagle staff writer

TRAVERSE CITY - A Lear Jet departing Cherry Capital Airport Thursday aborted its takeoff and skidded 630 feet off the runway after tires on its landing gear blew out. Three passengers and two crew members were aboard the aircraft. No one was injured. The incident happened about 9 a.m. when pilots aboard the twin-engine Lear 25 felt the blowouts of both tires on the right main landing gear just as they were at the critical point of the takeoff, said Ron Hubbard of the Federal Aviation Administration. The pilots opted to halt the takeoff and the plane skidded 630 feet off the south end of the runway. Had the pilots decided to continue the takeoff, they would have encountered a greater risk of later landing a plane with two blown tires, Hubbard said. The plane came to a halt before reaching South Airport Road, but airport manager Stephen Cassens said the plane did use up nearly all of the clear space. The plane was only 50 to 75 feet from the fence bordering the airport property and about 100 feet from the busy roadway. The plane carried three passengers, two crew members and a cat and a dog. Hubbard declined to identify the passengers or crew. The plane was owned by Henry Air Ltd., an air taxi operation based in Northbrook, Ill., and was headed to Salena, Kan. It was only slightly damaged in the accident. Hubbard said an inspection of the runway found nothing that could have accounted for the blowouts. He said the pilots said they saw nothing in the runway. FAA investigators from Grand Rapids indicated a mechanical malfunction was likely responsible, rather than negligence on the part of the flight crew, Hubbard said. Flights to and from Cherry Capital Airport were delayed about 25 minutes.

http://www.record-eagle.com/2001/aug/17plane.htm

-- Doris (nocents@ellsouth.net), August 17, 2001

Answers

These blown tires could be caused from improper tire inflation. Cold tires on an airplane look as if they are under inflated. When the plane rolls down the runway for takeoff the tires generate a enormous amount of heat which inflates the tires. If these tires were over inflated, they may have burst from excessive pressure.

-- David Williams (DAVIDWILL@prodigy.net), August 18, 2001.

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