MH194 tyres likely damaged and deflated during takeoff

PETALING JAYA: A Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight, with 280 passengers and 13 crew on board, landed safely at Mumbai Airport in India on Sunday night despite having three burst tyres.
Flight MH194 had earlier left Kuala Lumpur at 6.25pm.
MAS said today the tyres had probably been damaged and deflated when the aircraft took off from Kuala Lumpur.
An Indian news portal had earlier reported that passengers on board the plane were shaken when three of the aircraft’s tyres burst during touchdown .
The portal quoted a senior airport official as saying that three rear tyres of the aircraft burst upon landing and that there was some damage to the undercarriage retraction mechanism.
It also reported that the aircraft, which was parked in a bay near the cargo area, will be taken to the Air India hangar for repairs.
Aviation expert Vipul Saxena was quoted by the portal as saying that aircraft tyres sometimes burst during high-speed landings, which cause considerable heat generation in the tyres.
“There have been cases where rubber pieces have fallen off after take-off, following which pilots were alerted and landing was carried out with the utmost care, with emergency services on standby.
“In such situations, piloting skills play a crucial role in ensuring the safety of passengers and the aircraft,” he said.
A MAS source said the carrier will conduct an investigation into the incident and assured passengers that there is no cause for undue concern.
Meanwhile, Garuda Indonesia flight GA618 from Jakarta overran the runway during landing in bad weather at the Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport, Makassar, South Sulawesi, today.
The Boeing 737-800 with 144 passengers and eight crew skidded around 2.34pm and overshot the runway.
No injuries were reported and the passengers were later transported to the airport by bus.