2024-07 · NASA ASRS report 2145832
B747-400 flight crew reported a rejected takeoff due to a vibration and tire failure while accelerating during the takeoff roll. The Captain stopped the aircraft and cleared the runway where airport personnel identified two tires disintegrated; then rising brake temperatures deflated 3 other tires.
We were at ZZZZ for a tech stop; primarily fuel. After refueling; we departed spot XX at XA46Z with a taxi weight of 389;780; fairly heavy. We had a long taxi route; following [Taxiways] 1/ 2/ 3/ 4/ 5/6/ 7 to Runway XXL. Cognizant of the weight and length of taxi; I kept the aircraft speed at 8 to 9 knots in corners and between 10 and 16 knots on straights to reduce tire temps. At this weight; brakes were used very little during taxi out. During the takeoff Runway XXL; just above 80KIAS; the PM; Captain; called out 'Tire Pressure' in response to a yellow EICAS message. Since were were above 80 knots; we continued the takeoff run. As we approached 100 KIAS; the aircraft developed a high vibration which initially presented as a nose-wheel shimmy; but rapidly progressed to a much more severe vibration. Between 100 and 110 knots I determined that the vibration presented a sufficient threat to jeopardize flight and made the decision to reject. FO noted peak speed at about 117 KIAS. As we decelerated through 90 kias the vibration stopped; and the decision was made to vacate the runway. We exited at 8; and ATC instructed us to hold short of 9. It required 4 requests to ATC over a period of about 10 minutes to get Fire Trucks to respond for landing gear inspection. During this time; Brake Temps rose; peaked; and dropped again; raising the pressure indications in the main tires. The highest temp was observed in brake #2 at 8. Tire pressures rose as high as 265 PSI. Tires 1; 11; and 15 blew as a result of the heat of brakes. Suggestions: Our repeated calls for Fire Trucks to inspect our landing gear were apparently not understood. After the third call by PM; PIC took ATC and used the phrase 'send Crash; Fire; Rescue NOW.' This seemed to get the point across. However; was there an actual fire; the delay would have been unacceptable. The Controller did not seem to be aware of the threat of hot brakes after an Rejected Takeoff (RTO). The crew performed their duties well; making timely suggestions; this let to a collaborative outcome better than any single crewmember would have produced by individual effort. I'd like to thank the PM; Cockpit Observers; Engineers; and Loadmaster for their extremely valuable and timely assertions and assistance. I'd also like to thank our Dispatcher for immediately responding to our requests via telephone and rendering invaluable help; and the Ground Staff in ZZZZ for their support. There is very little I can suggest to improve this positive outcome of a very challenging event since the aircraft; crew; and responding airport personnel all performed flawlessly.
I was seated in the back passenger area next to maintenance an the loadmaster because we had a new crew member on an observation flight seated in the 2nd observer seat. Shortly after the takeoff roll began and the aircraft accelerated those of us in the cabin noticed a loud sound and vibration of the aircraft that progressively got worse as the aircraft accelerated towards V1. The pilot flying then rejected the takeoff and notified ATC and taxied clear of the runway. Personnel were called to inspect the aircraft and found two tires had disintegrated. The thermal energy from the rejected takeoff then deflated 3 other tires.Suggestions: It is my opinion that for two tires to simultaneously disintegrate on the same gear it is plausible to suggest that some form of debris was on the runway and remained undetected until the tires collided with it on the takeoff roll.
More incidents for this aircraft family
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
Loading the flight search…
Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.
We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.
Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.
Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.