Oman Airways flight lands at Chennai airport with damaged tyre

The maintenance crew at Chennai airport discovered the outer layer of the Oman Airways flight's tyre to be damaged. The tyre would have worn out during landing.

In Short

• 146 passengers were onboard during the incident on Saturday
• Damage likely occurred during landing, no tyre burst reported
• Maintenance crew discovered the damage during routine inspection

The maintenance crew at the Chennai international airport found the outer layer of one of the Oman Airways flight's tyres to be damaged after the aeroplane landed at the Chennai international airport on Saturday. 146 people were onboard the flight when the incident occurred.

The damage to the tyre could have happened during the landing. The flight which left from Muscat landed in the city at 5.30 pm.

After the pilot had parked it in the bay, the crew during regular maintenance observed that one of the tyres on the rear left side was damaged. However, there was no tyre burst.

Initial observation showed that the outer layer of the aeroplane tyre called the 'tread' was damaged, which could have happened during landing.

Aeroplane tyres are different from car tyres as they come with a strong tread which helps in gaining traction, disperse heat, adequate stability on wet runways all during landing and take-off.

The flight underwent other maintenance checks and is waiting for a new tyre which is to be flown in from Mumbai, Delhi and, if not available, from Muscat as per sources. The return journey of the aircraft has been cancelled and all the passengers have been accommodated in various hotels across the city.