Yesterday, a USAirways flight arriving at Miami International Airport from their hub in Charlotte, NC blew two tires and caught fire, necessitating an evacuation using the emergency slides(Picture courtesy of USA Today and the AP). No one was hurt in the incident, and so far there is no call for USAirways or other carriers to take any action, such as reviewing their tire maintenance procedures, at this time.
As this report from the Sun Sentinel shows, while the situation appeared somewhat dramatic, tire blowouts are not uncommon, considering the heat and pressure placed on the tires during landing. Aircraft designers tend to avoid putting flammable materials near the tires for this exact reason.
The real heroes of situations like this are the Flight Attendants. In a normal situation, flight attendants are there to serve drinks and assist the passengers. It is in emergency situations that these individuals push the limits of their training. They are trained to speed evacuation of passengers off of planes in just this kind of emergency, as well as assist medically. While most of us will never see this aspect of their training, and are thankful we don’t…those who do are thankful that it is part of their training program to handle several different types of emergency.