Beech Baron 55 instructor and trainee reported they experienced a tire failure on landing roll.
Synopsis
Beech Baron 55 instructor and trainee reported they experienced a tire failure on landing roll.
Narrative
I was flying with the Chief Flight Instructor for the flight school; receiving my aircraft checkout in the Baron 55 to become the new multi-engine instructor. I was the pilot flying from the right seat. This Baron does not have brakes on the right side of the aircraft; so we briefed how the takeoff and landing would occur. Takeoff was uneventful. On downwind we executed the landing checklist and reviewed the procedure for landing. After touchdown; decelerating below 70 kts we would transfer the rudder pedals and brakes to the left seat. Upon touchdown; the aircraft decelerated quickly and a large vibration was felt from the left side of the aircraft. The Tower Controller said 'Baron XXX; you have hot brakes.' I felt the left side of the aircraft settle a bit and we started to drift left with continued vibration. I put a large amount of right rudder to remain toward the center of the runway and executed a full stop. We notified Tower that we may have blown a tire and would be shutting the aircraft down on the runway. Post flight inspection revealed the left tire was flat. The Runway (XX/XY) was closed for approximately 30 min while maintenance got a tug and towed the aircraft clear of the runway. The Chief Flight Instructor did not believe they were engaging the brakes on touchdown; however; a check of the brakes was performed after the tire change and found no abnormality in the braking system; and the aircraft was returned to service. I have taught in several aircraft that have no brakes on the right side and feel it's a safe practice with a good brief of actions to be taken. The brief was well understood; but the execution did not achieve the desired outcome. A couple corrective actions are a more detailed brief on the specific actions to be taken upon landing. Specifically; in this specific scenario...the left seat pilot will keep their feet flat on the floor until ready to execute the transfer of controls. Rudder and nose wheel effectiveness on this aircraft; without brakes; is good down to approx. 40-50kts... delaying the transfer until at a slower ground speed will also mitigate locking up the brakes. Lastly; modifying the aircraft to have two sets of brakes would help mitigate this event. The Chief Pilot and I went in to great detail during the debrief and have established flight school SOP's (the two techniques above #1 & #2) to prevent a recurrence of this incident.
Second reporter narrative
This was an instructor check-out flight for a new (to the school) multi-engine instructor pilot. The MEI was flying right seat. Our plan was to accomplish two takeoffs and landings for currency requirements per far part 61.57. The aircraft; a Beechcraft Baron BE-55 had only one set of brake controls on the pilot side. The MEI and I had briefed transfer of controls prior to takeoff. We addressed the procedure for transferring control upon landing. The MEI would land the aircraft and call for braking. I was to apply the brakes. Upon landing rollout; the aircraft began pulling hard to the left. ATC informed us of the 'hot brake' and smoke. We rolled to the 6000 ft. marker and were able to stay on the runway. We secured the aircraft after coming to a full stop. ATC informed us that we could exit the aircraft immediately and dispatched aircraft services to tow the plane off the runway. We exited the aircraft with the onboard fire extinguisher to assess the situation and make certain the brake was not on fire. No fire was observed. The aircraft was towed to maintenance. The runway was closed for approximately 30 minutes. We were using Runway XX at ZZZ.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.