Air carrier flight crew reported a main gear tire failed during takeoff roll; resulting in a rejected takeoff. Passengers were deplaned and the aircraft towed to the hangar.
Synopsis
Air carrier flight crew reported a main gear tire failed during takeoff roll; resulting in a rejected takeoff. Passengers were deplaned and the aircraft towed to the hangar.
Narrative
We departed the gate uneventfully. Decided on a single-engine taxi. The #1 Engine was started after making the turn onto Taxiway 1. As we approached the runway; ZZZ Tower cleared us for takeoff. The two-minute warmup expired as we crossed the hold short line. Advanced the thrust levers and started to accelerate. Somewhere between 80 knots and 100 knots we started to feel a shimmy from what was assumed to be an unbalanced nosewheel--not uncommon.Over the next few seconds; the shimmy turned much more pronounced. At that point between 111 and 115 knots; the Captain decided to reject the takeoff. We rejected according to procedure; the First Officer executed his duties perfectly; and the aircraft came to a stop on the autobrakes. The Captain told the Passengers to remain seated over the PA. We set the flaps to 40 and retracted the speedbrakes.We informed the Tower of the reject and suspected tire damage. During the reject the Captain noticed a large dark object fly out in front of the aircraft and go into the grass. Airport Operations evidently found a large piece of the tire in the grass. We asked the Tower if they saw any smoke or fire; as we had no abnormal engine indications nor smoke fumes or smells in the cabin. The Tower took a closer look and said there was a little bit of smoke coming from the main gear. They called out the fire trucks and an Airport Operations vehicle was first on scene. We switched to a discreet frequency; and they informed us that indeed we had lost the left main inboard tire.At this point the fire trucks showed up and we started the APU and shutdown the engines. At this point we turned off the autobrakes and set the parking brake due to the fact that we were on a down-sloped runway and no one had any chocks. The Captain called back to the Flight Attendants to ensure that they as well as the Passengers were okay.We called ZZZ Operations and told them of the rejected takeoff and they said Maintenance is on XXX.XX nothing else. We assumed that they would call Dispatch to let them know what was going on. We put a call into ZZZ Maintenance to explain what happened. We ran the brake cooling data; and it said do not approach the gear for 30 minutes to one hour; at gate inspection needed; and 34.8M ft/lb.About 25 minutes since the reject; Maintenance showed up and informed us that they were going to replace both tires and then let us taxi to the gate. We believed towing us to the gate would be a safer option as we didn't know if there was any damage to either engine even though we had no abnormal indications. There was some confusion about where Airport Operations would meet the Super Tug but eventually it showed up.When they tried to move the aircraft; evidently the brakes on the right side had seized up. Maintenance started to work on the brakes; and the Captain discussed with Airport Operations about getting airstairs and buses to get everyone off the aircraft and back to the terminal. During this entire event; The Captain talked to the Flight Attendants and Passengers letting them know what was going on. Side note; we did get some messages from Dispatch; but because there was no chime to alert us; we overlooked them until a bit later. We kept the Passengers seated but let the Flight Attendants know that if anyone needed to use the facilities it was okay. At about the two-hour mark from leaving the gate; airstairs and buses arrived and we started deplaning. They unloaded the baggage and we rode the aircraft to the hangar.
Second reporter narrative
We departed the gate uneventfully. Decided on a single-engine taxi. The #1 Engine was started after making the turn onto Taxiway 1. As we approached the runway; ZZZ Tower cleared us for takeoff. The two-minute warmup expired as we crossed the hold short line. Advanced the thrust levers and started to accelerate. Somewhere between 80 knots and 100 knots we started to feel a shimmy from what I assumed an unbalanced nosewheel--not uncommon.Over the next few seconds; the shimmy turned much more pronounced. At that point between 111 and 115 knots; I decided to reject the takeoff. We rejected according to procedure; the First Officer executed his duties perfectly; and the aircraft came to a stop on the autobrakes. I told the Passengers to remain seated over the PA. We set the flaps to 40 and retracted the speedbrakes.We informed the Tower of the reject and suspected tire damage. During the reject I noticed a large dark object fly out in front of the aircraft and go into the grass. Airport Operations evidently found a large piece of the tire around; I think they said; about a hundred yards out in the grass. We asked the Tower if they saw any smoke or fire; as we had no abnormal engine indications nor smoke fumes or smells in the cabin. The Tower took a closer look and said there was a little bit of smoke coming from the main gear. They called out the fire trucks and an Airport Operations vehicle was first on scene. We switched to a discreet frequency; and they informed us that indeed we had lost the left main inboard tire.At this point the fire trucks showed up and we started the APU and shutdown the engines. At this point we turned off the autobrakes and set the parking brake due to the fact that we were on a down-sloped runway and no one had any chocks. I called back to the Flight Attendants to ensure that they as well as the Passengers were okay.We called ZZZ Operations and told them of the rejected takeoff and they said Maintenance is on XXX.XX nothing else. I assumed that they would call Dispatch to let them know what was going on. We put a call into ZZZ Maintenance to explain what happened. We ran the brake cooling data; and it said do not approach the gear for 30 minutes to one hour; at gate inspection needed; and 34.8M ft/lb.About 25 minutes since the reject; Maintenance showed up and informed us that they were going to replace both tires and then let us taxi to the gate. We believed towing us to the gate would be a safer option as we didn't know if there was any damage to either engine even though we had no abnormal indications. There was some confusion about where Airport Operations would meet the Super Tug but eventually it showed up.When they tried to move the aircraft; evidently the brakes on the right side had seized up. Maintenance started to work on the brakes; and I discussed with Airport Operations about getting airstairs and buses to get everyone off the aircraft and back to the terminal. During this entire event; I talked to the Flight Attendants and Passengers letting them know what was going on. Side note; we did get some messages from Dispatch; but because there was no chime to alert us; we overlooked them until a bit later. We kept the Passengers seated but let the Flight Attendants know that if anyone needed to use the facilities it was okay. At about the two-hour mark from leaving the gate; airstairs and buses arrived and we started deplaning. They unloaded the baggage and the FO and I rode the aircraft to the hangar.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.