Video: Delta 767 blows a tire on takeoff

by Kent Wien on

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:

At least it didn’t blow all the main tires as in this Delta flight last year.

Bring a tire repair kit – Road trip tip

by Gadling Staff on

A nighttime flat tire miles from the nearest town might make a good story later, but in the middle of a road trip, it spells stress. Be prepared with everything you need to fix a flat.

Auto supply retailers carry kits with patches, plugs, adhesive and a file to roughen the tire rubber to help the patch adhere. Bring along two cans of a flat-repair product to fill the tire.

In case of a flat: examine the tire and patch any injury. Use your trip-saving flat-repair can to inflate and seal the tire so you can drive to a safer location to change it.

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Detroit, home of the Uniroyal Giant Tire

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Interstate I-94 East from Ann Arbor, Michigan to downtown Detroit is a monotonous drive. Low-rise housing complexes, mall parking lots and the Detroit Metro airport pass you by on the mostly flat route, snaking its way towards the heart of the Motor City. But if there’s one weird landmark you’re not likely to miss along the way, it’s Detroit’s very own Uniroyal Giant Tire, rising more than 80 feet above the roadway.

This giant disk of premium rubber has been greeting Detroit-area commuters for more than 40 years. First built in 1964 as a monument for the World’s Fair in New York, the tire was originally a working Ferris wheel which could hold 96 riders. After the Fair’s conclusion the wheel was moved to its current home along the interstate. It’s been confusing and delighting motorists ever since, suddenly rising into view like a celestial hubcap sent from the heavens above.

It’s fitting that Detroit, a city that has long staked its reputation on the auto industry, would have such a landmark. But perhaps these days, with all the doom and gloom that’s been forecast in the state of Michigan, it’s become more a ghostly reminder of glory days past than a symbol of Detroit’s hopes for renewal. Still, for anyone who’s ever driven that flat road East towards Detroit, it’s a much needed symbol of whimsy and pride that never fails to make you smile.