A319 flight crew reported the aircraft was pulling to the right during taxi to the gate due to broken number two main landing gear axle.
Synopsis
A319 flight crew reported the aircraft was pulling to the right during taxi to the gate due to broken number two main landing gear axle.
Narrative
I was operating flight ABCD from ZZZ1 to ZZZ. The FO and myself reported for duty rested and ready for the day. I was going to operate as pilot flying for this leg so the FO and I split duties like we always do; I would handle pre flight in the flight deck and the FO would get the walk around. Nothing was out of the ordinary for each and we pushed back on schedule. After pushback we had a slight delay dealing with load planning because we had some last minute seats come available so now our originally occupied jumpseat was moved to a passenger seat in back. After we received our proper weights we proceeded to taxi to the runway without incident.The takeoff phase out of ZZZ1 was normal; we took off runway XXL. Take off roll went uneventful; until we reached about 1;000' in our climb. We had a caution ECAM for a BRK auto brk fault". I was hand flying and after confirming the ecam I elected to get a little higher in the climb before we split up duties and someone goes heads down to deal with the ecam because it was not a critical safety of flight issue. After we got to about 5;000' I turned the autopilot on. My FO had already pulled up the QRH reference for our ecam so I had the fo run the checklist. There was no reset and the jet was basically downgraded to CAT1 only and we had a landing procedure to apply. We canceled the ecam and continued to climb. Passing 18;000' I sent an ACARS message to Maintenance Control and reported the fault. They responded with nothing out of the ordinary on there end and all they've seen was a sensor fault for CFDS (Centralized Fault Display System) on tach 2 for both BSCUs (Braking and Steering Control Unit). I informed dispatch that we were downgraded to cat1 only and we ran the landing distance and came up with a conservative number of 5;500ft required. Dispatch and myself agreed it was safe to continue to ZZZ1.Cruise phase went normally.Descent and landing went without incident. We were getting vectored for a visual approach to runway XYL. I had briefed that I was going to let the aircraft slow using only reverse thrust until we were slow and I would gently apply brakes to make sure nothing was wrong. We touched down fairly smoothly and decelerating at a normal rate. I applied a small amount of brake around 65kts and did not notice any asymmetric braking or controllability issues which reaffirmed my belief we only had a sensor issue.During taxi into the gate the airplane was pulling slightly more to the right than usual but not aggressively. We parked and shutdown like usual; the only other thing that was noted was a FLT CNTL class II maintenance message. I wrote that up and informed Maintenance Control. We left the jet after briefly speaking to the mechanic that showed up to fix the sensor.During our next leg we received an acars message from Maintenance Control asking to call when we got on the ground. This is when I was informed that the axel for the number 2 MLG had broke off and the tire was disconnected hanging on by only the brake. The photos that were associated do not reflect the indications we had on the flight deck or the feel of landing the plane and taxiing. Apparently the situation was more serious than anyone could have realized and we were very lucky the tire assembly did not depart from the gear"
Second reporter narrative
Shortly after liftoff from ZZZ1 to ZZZ; an ECAM was observed. BRAKE: AUTO BRK FAULT. Normal ECAM procedures were applied. There were no TO-DO items apart from LANDING DISTANCE PROCEDURE: APPLY. Maintenance Control was advised of the situation. We all agreed that there was no immediate threat as there was high confidence that this was a sensor issue. The flight continued to ZZZ normally. During our landing brief the CA discussed the fault and emphasized that extra attention would be payed to directional control during touchdown and rollout. The approach was stable. Touchdown; rollout; braking and taxi were normal. Approaching the gate the CA verbally noted that the AC was pulling lightly to the right. Parking and shutdown were all normal. Maintenance technicians met us at the gate and our observations were passed onto them. Maintenance contacted us later to ask questions about the flight and also informed us that the #2 MLG axle had failed and that the #2 wheel/tire was only hanging on because it was wedged against the brake assembly. The #2 tire was heavily damaged from grinding on the ground. We had no way of knowing about this condition. It is very surprising that the aircraft behaved so normal during landing and taxi. We are fortunate that the outcome was so benign.
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Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.