Police rush to major US airport after Boeing 767 suffers catastrophic landing failure
Posted For: Rotorblade
Emergency crews responded to a major U.S. airport Tuesday evening after a Boeing 767 experienced a severe landing malfunction.
A LATAM Airlines flight arriving in Atlanta from Lima, Peru, completed its seven-hour journey before all eight of the aircraft’s landing tires reportedly burst at the moment of touchdown.
Despite the dramatic incident, none of the 221 passengers on board were injured.
According to Fox 5 Atlanta, aviation experts say the tire failures were likely not caused by a hard landing. Instead, they believe a malfunction in the aircraft’s automatic braking system may have caused the brakes to lock, leading to the blowouts.
Airport employees who witnessed the landing described hearing multiple loud bangs as the aircraft hit the runway, followed by thick smoke rising from the wheels.
“I was at work and my co-workers and I heard a couple of loud bangs and saw a lot of smoke,” one witness wrote on social media. Another airport worker reportedly said the plane appeared to land so hard that all the tires failed.
Passengers onboard said the experience was frightening as the aircraft slowed down. One traveler described feeling the wheels violently shudder against the runway for an unusually long time.
Retired Captain Paul Carr, a former Delta Air Lines pilot who flew the Boeing 767, told Fox 5 Atlanta the incident was extremely rare. While single tire blowouts can occur, he said losing all eight tires at once is highly unusual.
“That’s very odd for all eight tires to blow on a landing,” Carr said. He added that a brake system failure likely caused the wheels to lock up, leading to the damage.
Photos taken after the landing showed visible damage inside the cabin, including loose interior panels and a lavatory door torn from its hinges.
Passengers remained on the tarmac for approximately two hours before being allowed to exit the aircraft. They were later transported to the terminal by bus rather than using the jet bridge.
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