Pilot reported an uncommanded yaw during the takeoff roll. A rejected takeoff was performed and it was determined that both left main tires had deflated.

Date: 2023-05 · Aircraft: A321 · Phase: takeoff

Anomalies: aircraft-equipment-problem-critical|deviation-discrepancy-procedural-clearance|ground-event-encounter-loss-of-aircraft-control

Synopsis

Pilot reported an uncommanded yaw during the takeoff roll. A rejected takeoff was performed and it was determined that both left main tires had deflated.

Narrative

While on the takeoff roll on Runway XXR at around 120-130 knots we get a strong yawing motion to the left and it felt similar to what we feel in the simulator during an engine failure. The captain called for the rejected takeoff and took control of the aircraft and we slowed down and were able to taxi off the runway and onto Taxiway 1 where we brought it to a stop and assessed the situation. After we determined that everything was fine and the aircraft could move back to the gate for the maintenance inspection we tried to taxi and were unable to move. An operations truck for the city of ZZZ was there and informed us that our left main tires had blown. After coordinating with ground and ZZZ operations we deplaned the passengers via air stairs and busses back to the terminal. It is my belief that we may have been hit by a dust devil on our takeoff roll and that is what caused the yaw to occur. The winds that day were mostly calm but; right before the yawing event and the rejected takeoff; I saw a piece of paper blowing very rapidly across the runway just in front of us. I noticed this at about the same time of the movement but I wasn't able to call out what I was seeing before we went through it. There isn't anything that I think would have been able to to prevent this event from happening. If it was in fact a dust devil that caused the yawing motion it was something that was unpredictable and happened so quickly we wouldn't have been able to avoid it.

More incidents for this aircraft family →

Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.