B747-400 Captain and Relief Pilot reported after departure they were notified of pieces of tire left on the runway. After landing at their destination; they were told they had a main landing tire failure.
Synopsis
B747-400 Captain and Relief Pilot reported after departure they were notified of pieces of tire left on the runway. After landing at their destination; they were told they had a main landing tire failure.
Narrative
After departure from ZZZZ and at cruise; at XA:53; we received an ACARS message from Dispatch that ZZZZ Tower advised our Operation that tire pieces were found on the runway after our takeoff. When we asked if it was our aircraft specifically; they stated that they weren't sure in an ACARS response at XB:02. Our takeoff from ZZZZ appeared normal; there were no flight deck or control indications that indicated otherwise. All systems were operating normally. We discussed our findings with Dispatch; Maintenance Control and the chief pilot over SATCOM. Based on this information; we as a crew pressed on as normal. Upon contact with ZZZ Center we requested priority handling and requested crash; fire rescue equipment to standby for us after landing in ZZZ. We advised ZZZ Center and Tower that we intended to accomplish a normal landing; except that we would stop on the runway pending an external aircraft inspection before we made a decision to taxi to parking. A normal landing was accomplished and we stopped on the runway for an after landing inspection. Internally in the aircraft; there were no indications of any sort of failure. Both ZZZ Tower and the onsite ZZZ Operations vehicle indicated that our #8 tire had failed. At that point we elected to stay on the runway and worked with ZZZ Operations to get towed off. We started the APU and shut down all four engines. It was decided that an Maintenance team will change two tires on the runway. After the tire change was complete and upon clearance from onsite Maintenance personnel that the aircraft wasn't compromised; we taxied to our assigned spot.Cause: Tire failure for unknown reasons.
Second reporter narrative
The flight crew consisted of three operating members and two deadheading crew on a flight from ZZZZ to ZZZ. I was in the observation seat; and the Captain was the pilot flying.A pre-flight walk-around was conducted with nothing unusual noted. Taxi and takeoff were normal. During initial climb; a Brake Limiter Status message was received and logged.At XA:53Z; we received a message from Dispatch stating that tire debris had been found after our departure. Dispatch could not confirm if it was from our aircraft. The Captain was informed and later contacted Dispatch; Duty Pilot; and Maintenance via SATCOM. Maintenance confirmed the status message was unrelated to tire damage.On approach to ZZZ; the Captain and I decided to have emergency services on standby. A request of priority handling was requesting.Landing with Flaps 30 was normal. During deceleration; a light thudding was felt. Emergency services inspected the aircraft and found damage to tire #8 on the left main gear. Two tires were replaced on the runway before the aircraft taxied to parking.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.