Two passenger jets suffered tyre failures at Chicago O’Hare International Airport within a few hours of each other Monday, creating an unusual sequence of incidents at one of the busiest airports in the United States.
The first involved an American Airlines Boeing 737-800 arriving from New York LaGuardia. Just after 2 p.m. local time, the aircraft landed safely but suffered damage to two tyres.
About three and a half hours later, a United Airlines Airbus A320 arriving from Omaha experienced tire damage while exiting the runway.
No one was injured in either incident. But with emergency crews responding to the American aircraft, runway debris being cleared and another aircraft suffering a similar problem later in the afternoon, the events quickly drew attention.
The Federal Aviation Administration is now investigating.
Importantly, there is no evidence at this stage that the two incidents were connected. They occurred at different parts of O’Hare, and investigators have not identified a common cause.
American Airlines 737-800 loses two tyres
American Airlines Flight 386 arrived at O’Hare after departing New York’s LaGuardia Airport.
The aircraft landed safely at around 2 p.m., according to the FAA, but two tyres were blown during the landing.
Fire trucks and emergency vehicles were sent to the Boeing 737-800 as airport personnel responded.
Air traffic control audio captured the initial exchange between the tower and the American crew.
“American 386, you require any assistance?” the controller asked after being alerted that the aircraft had blown a tire.
The pilot responded that there were no injuries and that passengers were calm and remained seated.
There were 180 passengers aboard the flight. Rather than using a jet bridge, passengers were taken off the aircraft using stairs and then transported to the terminal by buses.
American Airlines later confirmed that the aircraft had been removed from service for inspection.
“We thank our team members for their professionalism and we apologize to our customers for their experience,” the airline said.
The incident also temporarily affected runway operations. Crews had to clear tyre debris from the runway before it could return to normal use.
Despite the emergency response, reported delays at O’Hare remained relatively limited at the time, with delays of less than 15 minutes.
United A320 suffers tyre damage later that afternoon
The second incident came later in the day.
United Airlines Flight 739 had departed Omaha, Nebraska, and arrived at O’Hare at approximately 5:30 p.m. local time.
The Airbus A320 experienced tire damage while leaving the runway after landing. The aircraft was eventually stopped, with air traffic controllers noting debris in the area.
The passengers were then taken off the aircraft using airstairs and transported back to the terminal by bus.
United confirmed the incident, saying the aircraft sustained tire damage after arriving at O’Hare.
Again, there were no reported injuries.
The timing, however, was difficult to ignore.
The American Airlines aircraft had suffered two blown tires only a few hours earlier. Now another passenger aircraft had experienced a tire problem at the same airport.
For an airport as heavily used as O’Hare, tire damage is not unheard of. But two incidents involving different airlines on the same day naturally raise questions about whether there could be an environmental or runway-related factor.
At this point, though, there is no evidence that there was.
Is runway debris part of the investigation?
One possibility investigators may examine is foreign object debris, or FOD.
Runway debris can pose a serious threat to aircraft. Even relatively small objects can damage tires, engines or other aircraft components when encountered at high speed.
That does not mean debris caused either of Monday’s tyre failures.
In fact, investigators will need to establish what happened before making that determination. Tire failures can have many causes, including wear, damage, overheating, braking forces, manufacturing defects, maintenance issues and contact with debris.
The fact that tire debris was reported on the runway after the incidents does not establish what caused the original failure.
It is also possible that debris found on the runway was simply a result of the tyres breaking apart.
That distinction will be important as the investigation develops.
Another United tyre incident happened days earlier
Monday’s events are particularly notable because O’Hare had already seen another serious tire-related incident involving United Airlines less than a week earlier.
Last Thursday, a United aircraft bound for Phoenix aborted its takeoff at O’Hare after suffering two blown tyres.
The aircraft was able to stop safely, and no injuries were reported.
The incident generated its own air traffic control communications, with another pilot reportedly describing large pieces of tyre debris scattered across the runway.
That earlier event is likely to attract renewed attention following Monday’s incidents, although the available information does not establish a link between the cases.
The aircraft involved were different, and the circumstances were also different. Thursday’s event occurred during takeoff, while Monday’s American and United incidents happened after landing.
Those differences matter.
Why aircraft tire failures can become serious
An aircraft tire may look simple compared with an engine or flight-control system, but it performs a demanding job.
Commercial airliner tires must absorb the forces generated when an aircraft weighing tens of thousands of pounds touches down. They also have to withstand high rotational speeds and substantial braking forces during the landing roll.
A tire failure does not necessarily mean an aircraft is in immediate danger. Airliners are designed with multiple wheels and tires on their landing gear, giving crews redundancy if one fails.
But a blown tire can still create complications.
Pieces of rubber can be thrown onto the runway or into nearby areas. Damage to wheels, brakes or landing gear components can also occur. In some cases, a tire failure can affect an aircraft’s ability to taxi normally or require the runway to be closed for an inspection.
That is why airport crews respond quickly when a tire failure is reported.
For the passengers aboard the two O’Hare flights Monday, the most important outcome was that both aircraft completed their landings safely and everyone got off without reported injuries.
FAA investigation will determine what happened
The FAA is investigating both incidents, while the airlines are conducting their own inspections.
American has taken the Boeing 737-800 involved in Flight 386 out of service for examination. Investigators and maintenance personnel will have the opportunity to inspect the damaged tires, wheels and associated landing gear components.
They can also review aircraft records and operational information to determine whether there were any factors that might explain the failure.
The runway environment will be another important part of the picture.
If investigators find evidence of foreign object debris, unusual surface conditions or another airport-related factor, that could help explain why the tires failed.
If they find no common factor, the two events may ultimately prove to have been unrelated mechanical incidents that happened to occur within hours of each other.
That may be less dramatic, but it is also entirely possible.
A strange day for tyres at O’Hare
For passengers, Monday’s incidents were an unwelcome disruption. For aviation investigators, they present a different question: was this simply an unusual coincidence, or is there something worth examining more closely at O’Hare?
At present, the evidence points only to two separate aircraft experiencing tire damage on the same day.
The recent United aborted takeoff adds another layer to the story, but it should not be treated as proof of a broader airport safety problem.
The FAA’s investigation should provide more clarity.
Until then, the biggest takeaway is that both flight crews handled their respective situations safely, passengers were removed from the aircraft without reported injuries, and airport crews moved quickly to deal with the runway debris.
What caused the tire failures remains the key unanswered question.
And with O’Hare handling hundreds of aircraft movements every day, investigators will be looking closely at whether Monday’s events were nothing more than an extraordinary coincidence—or whether there is a lesson hidden in the tyre debris left behind.
For more on similar developments, see: FAA Extends Chicago O’Hare Flight Cap Until 2027
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