Summary

  • Three tire burst incidents of Atlas Air in June raise scrutiny.
  • The latest Hong Kong incident led to runway closure and delays.
  • The airline operates a large fleet of Boeing 747s for its daily operations.

Any incident with an aircraft requires an investigation to examine the causes and ways to prevent it from happening again. But when three similar incidents occur with the same airline within almost two weeks, it is bound to face some scrutiny. Cargo airline Atlas Air has made headlines thrice this month alone with separate incidents of its Boeing 747s damaging their tires.

Three incidents this month

June has been slightly tricky for Atlas Air, which has had to deal with three separate incidents of tire damage, some related to hydraulic failure.

The first incident happened on June 2, when one of its Boeing 747-400F aircraft made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport after the flight crew reported a blown tire. The incident was caught on camera, and the 30-plus-year-old plane made a successful landing without any injuries.

On June 11, another of the carrier’s 747-400F had to return to Seoul after suffering hydraulic failure during its climb out. It was headed to Anchorage Ted Stevens International Airport (ANC) in Alaska and damaged its tires upon landing. According to reports, the plane suffered a separation of treads on two of its tires, resulting in a cut on the aircraft’s hydraulic system number 1. The third tire got damaged upon landing.

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Atlas Air Boeing 747 Returns To Seoul Amid Hydraulic Failure & Tire Damage

That incident marked the second one for the aircraft in two days.

The latest incident occurred on June 17 with another Boeing 747-400F that departed from Hong Kong International Airport for Anchorage. It also suffered a hydraulic issue and blew several tires while landing in Hong Kong. The plane was stuck on the runway and caused several flight disruptions.

Hong Kong authorities to scrutinize the incident

The incident in Hong Kong also affected the airport’s operations. It led to the closure of one runway, resulting in the delay of 450 flights. According to the South China Morning Post, a spokesperson for the airport authority said that because of the 747’s hydraulic failure, “the handling of the emergency took longer than expected.”

Taking the incident seriously, Hong Kong authorities will investigate it properly to determine whether the situation could have been handled differently and whether more could have been done to minimize the disruption.

Atlas Air Boeing 747-400F.

Photo: ajuangon | Shutterstock

The South China Morning Post reports that Hong Kong city leader John Lee Ka-chiu has said that officials will examine why the Atlas Air aircraft’s hydraulic system failed, resulting in the tire burst and subsequent closure of one of the runways.

Usually, when an airline is involved in numerous incidents within a short span of time, authorities take notice and often take corrective action. Not too long ago, the FAA decided to scrutinize United Airlines after it faced a series of incidents in the preceding months.

Atlas Air Boeing 747-400F landing on a runway shutterstock_668407474

Photo: Gary Rickard | Shutterstock

It is important to note that all three Atlas Air incidents were handled with full protocols, with the operating crew preventing any major damage to the aircraft as well as human life. Hopefully, a review by the airline, as well as relevant authorities, will identify the issues that need to be fixed to prevent this from happening again.

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