Aircraft wheels and tires

Aircraft wheels and tires are two of the most critical components of every aircraft. Any damages in wheels can lead to catastrophic consequences during take-off and landing. They are designed to tolerate considerable amounts of weight (more than 100000 Kg in Airbus 300-600 and 40000 Kg in BAe-146 and AVRO RJ during landing), friction, and heat. This requires the condition of wheel assembly to be inspected very closely during preflight, post-flight, scheduled, and unscheduled checks to assure satisfactory conditions as stated in detail in Aircraft Maintenance Manuals. Some damages to tires are considered permitted and some are not. Not permitted damages usually require the wheel assembly to be replaced. Although wheel removal/installation is one of the most frequent tasks carried out in Line-maintenance by aircraft engineers, maintenance engineers should follow the step by step procedure stated by the manufacturer to minimize possible discrepancies which are usually due to human factors caused by tough working environments and flight delay prevention. These pictures depict some tire damages prior to wheel replacement on BAe-146 aircraft in transit stations and respective replacement procedures as well.