B737 MAX 9 flight crew were informed by the pushback crew that the left main tire was flat. Maintenance was notified and confirmed that it was not only one but both left main tires were flat and needed changing. The technicians also remarked that this was the third aircraft that had a similar issue occur on the same tire.
Synopsis
B737 MAX 9 flight crew were informed by the pushback crew that the left main tire was flat. Maintenance was notified and confirmed that it was not only one but both left main tires were flat and needed changing. The technicians also remarked that this was the third aircraft that had a similar issue occur on the same tire.
Narrative
Gate XX at ZZZ in MAX 9 aircraft; 4th leg of Initial FO (First Officer) OE (Initial Operating Experience). After push clearance was received; we were notified by the push crew that we may have a flat main tire. An ELB (Electronic Log Book) entry was made and Maintenance Control was notified. Maintenance Control advised that the left main inboard tire was flat and that they needed to deplane the aircraft to facilitate both left main tires being changed. In order to ensure the new hire FO had not missed this during his walkaround we walked down to the Ramp to discuss with the Maintenance Control technicians. They reported they had seen this before and this is the 3rd MAX aircraft they had seen this occur on the same tire. They stated it's been caught after loading was complete and the aircraft was at operating weight. During removal of the left main inboard tire; they had trouble removing the tire from the assembly. Upon removal they reported to us that the left main inboard brake was severely damaged and also needed replaced. The Technician mentioned that there are 2 U-bolt assemblies that hold the brake pads. One was completely missing and the other was damaged; allowing the brake pads to move around and cause further damage. They stated there was no way of telling how long ago the damage had occurred. Maintenance Control changed both left main tires and the inboard left main brake pad assembly in approximately 1 hours time.
Second reporter narrative
After doing a walkaround and before pushback; Ramp noticed that our left main inboard tire looked very low. We contacted Maintenance and they came out to take a look at the tire since we were already boarded with doors closed. They informed us that the tire was in fact flat and that we would need to deplane to have the issue fixed. I'm new and on IOE; and was concerned I missed that the tire was low; but when talking to Maintenance they said this was the third time this had happened this month on a 737 MAX. It was only after everyone had boarded that the tires appeared to be low.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.