The landing gear on a flight from Edinburgh to Belfast "overheated and fell off", a new investigation has found. It relates to an Aer Lingus flight between Edinburgh and Belfast City Airport at 9.17am on October 31, 2023.
During take off in Scotland, a fractured axle caused the passenger plane's landing gear to detach. Airport and flight crew failed to notice the detachment until the plane was being taxied to the terminal in Belfast.
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said the fractured axle was likely caused by an overheated bearing, but could not determine exactly what caused it to overheat. Four crew and 55 passengers were on board the flight, and no injuries were recorded.
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Investigators from the AAIB report said the nose wheel would "not have been easily detachable" by staff in Edinburgh as it "came to rest" away from the runway.
Following the incident, both airports carried out runway inspections after staff in Belfast noticed the wheel was missing - it was later located near the runway in Edinburgh.
A further examination of the ATR 72-212 A aircraft, which was built in 2017, found evidence of heat damage on the axle. The report said the axle fractured due to overheating of the wheel bearing, which caused "thermal shock."
Investigatiors said the cause of the overheating "could not be positively determined" but that it may have been caused by "over-greasing" of inner and outter bearings or lack of wheel balancing weights.
Aer Lingus has been contacted for a comment.
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