While a tire failure can occasionally happen during takeoff or landing, it’s rare to get it caught on video. This scene, taken Wednesday by TengoIndiaMike captures the moment Delta 257, a flight from Detroit to Sao Paulo, in a rather dramatic fashion.
I’ve experienced a tire failure in a 727 on landing that we never felt. It was only after the tower mentioned seeing something that we stopped and had it checked out. So it’s difficult to say whether or not the Delta pilots knew about it in this case. Unlike the 777, the 767-300 has no tire pressure indicators in the cockpit.
And if the airplane is above 80 knots, pilots are taught not to abort the takeoff unless the airplane is unflyable or on fire.
After liftoff, the pilots were right in electing to fly to their destination, as an overweight landing with a blown tire might not be the best choice.
Here’s the video: