Aircraft Tire Failure Diagnosis

01

Decision tree

Landing (slip / impact) Braking (lock-up / reverted) Combination / caution Other / intermediate

02

Why each mechanism leaves a different «signature»

ALanding · spin-up

Contact slip

At the moment of touchdown the wheel is stationary and, within a fraction of a second, must reach ground speed. While it accelerates it slips — but at the same time it begins to spin up, so the friction is spread over a large arc and never has time to «dig in».

Chevron cutting on the tread — **Photo of 'What'** · Goodyear ATCMM (6/2024), p. 31 — «Chevron Cutting»

Sketch of 'why' · shallow · spread arc · V-cuts

How to tell it apartBroad, shallow, symmetric scrub; often V-shaped cuts (chevron). Rarely reaches the cords — never a deep «crater».

Typical exampleIn the touchdown zone of every runway — the black rubber marks from spin-up. Pronounced chevron cutting appears on cross-grooved runways. [Goodyear ATCMM]

BLanding · high sink rate

Hard impact

Here the issue is not slip but the vertical load. The tire is compressed at the contact patch and the sidewalls are over-stretched — so the damage shifts from the tread to the structure.

Structural tire failure — thrown tread — **Photo of 'What'** · Goodyear ATCMM (6/2024), p. 30 — «Thrown Tread» (structural failure)

Sketch of 'why' · vertical load · sidewall bulge

How to tell it apartDamage on the sidewall/bead, a bulge, or ply separation — with the tread often intact. Strong indicator: accompanying damage to the wheel or landing gear.

Typical exampleA hard/heavy landing above the certified sink-rate limit → a mandatory «hard landing» inspection (AMM): the beads and structure are checked, while the tread may look clean. [Goodyear ATCMM, p. 23/27]

CBraking · locked wheel

Locked wheel

Without anti-skid, when braking torque exceeds the available friction the wheel stops turning while the aircraft keeps moving. A single point of the tread drags continuously in the same place and is quickly abraded down to the cords.

Sketch of 'why' · stationary wheel · 1 deep flat spot → cords

How to tell it apart from spin-upA deep, localized flat spot in the center, with abraded cords (dry abrasion). Key: depth to the cords + localization.

Typical exampleAn aircraft without anti-skid (or with the system inactive / emergency brake applied directly) braking hard on a dry runway — a single deep flat spot abraded to the cords (the «Skid» category). [Goodyear · SKYbrary]

DBraking · wet — reverted rubber

«Reverted» rubber

On a wet runway, the locked wheel generates so much heat that it melts the rubber at the contact patch and traps steam. The steam lifts the tire — reverted rubber (steam) aquaplaning.

Tread rubber reversion — **Photo of 'What'** · Goodyear ATCMM (6/2024), p. 31 — «Tread Rubber Reversion»

Sketch of 'why' · steam · glassy oval · wet

The critical testGlassy, blistered, «boiled» rubber (not abraded cords) + white steam marks. Abraded → Dry; melted/glassy → Wet.

Documented exampleEMB 145, Nuremberg, 18 Jul 2005 (BFU EX005-0/05). Landing on wet runway 28; the mean deceleration from braking was minimal — comparable to that of a very slippery runway — and light-colored, glossy braking marks were found together with a large amount of detached rubber on the runway. [BFU]

03

The decisive tests at a glance

Criterion	Contact slip (spin-up)	Hard impact	Lock-up (braking)
Location	tread, spread	sidewall/bead/wheel	tread, localized
Depth	shallow, no cords	internal / structural	down to the cords
Shape	arc / V-cuts (chevron)	deformation / bulge	one deep flat spot
Accompanying sign	V-cuts on the tread	wheel / landing-gear damage	abraded cords
Position on runway	touchdown zone	point of contact	far end of the runway

When they coexist (combined mechanisms)

If they happen together you will see several signatures at once: scrub/chevron on the tread, sidewall/bead damage AND a flat spot.

The diagnostic key is that all the signatures look «fresh» (of the same age) and are co-located; the report then assigns each mechanism a contributing factor — not an exclusive cause.

To reconstruct the time sequence — which mechanism came first — we use the position of the marks along the runway: landing damage is laid down early, in the touchdown zone, while braking damage appears later, toward the far end. The picture is confirmed by the flight recordings — vertical acceleration (vertical g) at touchdown, wheel speed and brake pressure — so we can separate what occurred first from what followed.

05

Case study — landing on a wet runway

Aerial photo of the aircraft's position after the ground loop, Nuremberg

Aircraft position after the ground loop — Photo: BFU

EMB 145 · Nuremberg · 18 Jul 2005 · BFU EX005-0/05

Locked wheels & reverted rubber, without anti-skid

Approach through a thunderstorm; landing on wet runway 28 with an increased approach speed. Braking did not stop the aircraft before the end of the runway; a runway excursion and a ~200° ground loop followed, with the main gear in the grass.

On the runway, light-colored, glossy braking marks with a glassy, «polished» appearance were found, along with a large amount of peeled rubber — the classic signature of reverted rubber aquaplaning.

Braking: minimal effect VAPP 148 kt RWY 28 · wet

06

Other common tire failures — recognition catalogue

Beyond the four landing/braking mechanisms, technical personnel encounter other failure categories too. They are not necessarily related to the scenario examined here — they are listed as a visual recognition guide (Goodyear ATCMM reference photos, pp. 29–33).