B737-700 flight crew reported a piece of tire tread departed a tire during rotation. Flight crew kept landing gear extended; returned to departure airport and landed.
Synopsis
B737-700 flight crew reported a piece of tire tread departed a tire during rotation. Flight crew kept landing gear extended; returned to departure airport and landed.
Narrative
During rotation I observed a large piece of tire tread accelerate past the aircraft; accompanied by some vibration. Almost immediately the ANTI SKID INOP came on and continued to light intermittently for the duration of the flight. We asked for delay vectors and followed guidance to plan our next steps. We discussed the guidance in manual and decided that due to the ANTI SKID INOP light and vibrations that further damage was likely. We concluded that the safest course of action was to keep the gear extended and return to the departure airport for landing. Concern about further damage also led us to coordinate a low pass so that the Tower; as well as an aircraft holding short; could inspect the undercarriage. Low light conditions prevented them from seeing any details; other than to remark that there was no obvious damage.We executed the QRH ANTISKID INOP Checklist; requested non-normal landing data; and requested brake cooling data. Landing weight was well below maximum and there was no cooling time required. At this point; we transferred controls for a left seat landing; which was performed without incident. The aircraft pulled slightly to the left and had a small list to the left. After Fire and Rescue performed an inspection; we taxied to the gate. The postflight walkaround revealed failure of the left inner main gear tire; with damage to the nose gear door; underside of the wing; as well as the antiskid system and hydraulic lines which resulted in a hydraulic leak.
Second reporter narrative
Just after 80 knots I noticed a slight vibration in the aircraft. It grew at a slow rate as we approached rotation speed. At rotation speed I noticed a black object; which I mistook as a bird; momentarily pass us on our left hand side. After liftoff; the Pilot Monitoring noticed that the ANTI SKID INOP light was on and would flash intermittently. This light continued in this manner for the remainder of the flight. We asked for vectors to keep us close to the airport. Then we used company guidance to work on the problem. We left the landing gear down initially since we didn't know what had happened and didn't want to possibly cause more damage. We then ran through the QRH and the manual. After working through these sections; we resolved to keep the landing gear down and return to our originating airport. We swapped roles at this point; and I became the Pilot Monitoring. We executed a low approach to see if Tower or another aircraft could verify any damage that had occurred. The lighting at that time of day prevented them from properly seeing any damage. We then asked for additional vectors to run the QRH ANTISKID INOP checklist; request non-normal landing data and brake cooling. Our landing weight was within limits and brake cooling was no factor. We swapped roles for this; so I was Pilot Flying during this time. After completion; I became Pilot Monitoring again. We proceeded inbound and landed without complications. There was a small left pull on the ground. Fire and rescue inspected us on the runway and then followed us to the gate once we were cleared. Postflight walkaround showed that the left inner main gear tire had failed which then caused damage to the nose gear door; underside of the wing; and anti-skid and hydraulic lines.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.