A Boeing 767 passenger aircraft operated by LATAM Airlines, flight number LA2482, was stranded on the runway following a serious technical malfunction during its landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after a flight from Lima, Peru.
It was reported that on the aircraft, which landed in Atlanta on Tuesday evening, all eight landing tyres burst at the moment the aircraft touched down on the runway. Following the incident, airport first response teams were rapidly dispatched to the runway, while the 221 passengers on board were forced to wait on the runway for approximately two hours. The passengers were later evacuated to the terminal by buses.
According to a report by local television channel Fox 5, citing an aviation expert, the incident may have been caused not by a hard landing but by a possible malfunction in the aircraft’s automatic braking system. According to experts, a system failure may have caused the wheels to lock and excessive friction, leading to all the tyres bursting simultaneously.
Footage taken at the scene showed that cabin interior panels had come loose and the aircraft’s lavatory door had detached from its hinges. Despite this, authorities stated that no passengers or crew members were injured in the incident.
Airport staff and passengers who witnessed the landing said they heard successive explosion sounds as the aircraft touched down, followed by heavy smoke. A witness who shared their account on social media said, “We heard multiple loud explosion sounds and then a lot of smoke rose.”
Speaking to Fox 5, retired Captain Paul Carr, who served for many years on Boeing 767 aircraft, described the incident as “extremely unusual”. Carr said that tyre bursts can occur from time to time, but eight tyres bursting at the same time is quite rare and could indicate a fault related to the braking system.
Due to the incident, runway 26R was temporarily closed, while airport officials stated that the situation did not seriously affect overall flight operations. It was reported that the technical investigation process is being carried out by LATAM Airlines and the relevant authorities.
