PIA Airbus A320 With a Missing Landing Gear Wheel Lands Safely in Lahore

[Abbas Ali]

According to news reports, on March 12, PIA Airbus A320 aircraft registration AP-BLS flight PK306 from Karachi landed safely in Lahore with missing inner wheel of left-side main landing gear. The missing wheel was noticed during post-flight inspection of the aircraft at Lahore Airport.



Wheel nuts/bolts/parts have been recovered from Karachi Airport. The missing wheel has not been found, so far. The incident is being investigated by aviation bodies and the airline.



On March 12, PIA Airbus A320 aircraft registration AP-BLS as Karachi to Lahore flight PK306 departed from Karachi Airport Runway 25L at 7:59 PM and landed on Lahore Airport Runway 36R at 9:15 PM.

Takeoff from Karachi Airport Runway 25L.


Source: flightradar24.com

Landing on Lahore Airport Runway 36R.


Source: flightradar24.com

AP-BLS is on the ground since landing at Lahore Airport.

Abbas

[faisal-777]

Just wondering if this should have been felt during taxi? Why they found out only in post flight inspection?

[Abbas Ali]

Information on The Aviation Herald.

https://avherald.com/h?article=5252f437

Abbas

[TomcatTask]

Just wondering if this should have been felt during taxi? Why they found out only in post flight inspection?

Acc to reports i've seen nobody felt anything, must have been one smooth landing lol

[Abbas Ali]

Missing wheel of PIA Airbus A320 (AP-BLS) found near landing gear of a grounded Boeing 777 parked at Karachi Airport. The wheel did not cause any damage on the ground.







Abbas

[TomcatTask]

Well then... I guess the question now is, did this wheel come of while taking off or while it was parked/taxiing. You would think ground staff would have noticed it.

[Abbas Ali]

From photos released, it seems the wheel came to rest under a grounded PIA Boeing 777-300ER marked with red dot in following image (correction welcome).



The aircraft performed takeoff from Karachi Airport Runway 25L. So probably, the wheel separated from landing gear during takeoff or takeoff roll.

Abbas

[danyal77W]

and why is it mostly all the time AP-BLS?

[owlventure]

and why is it mostly all the time AP-BLS?

The only other AP-BLS incidents I recall have been a singular case of a pressurization failure and a couple bird strikes. I also doubt this is a failure of the aircraft itself so I don't see how that matters.

[Karachi Aviator]

How come no one saw a whole freaking wheel just sitting there at the tarmac casually and let the aircraft do a flight without a wheel - assuming that the wheel came off when it was being taxied towards the terminal for the upcoming flight and not during the take-off.

[TAILWIND]

Apparently crew did not know of this PDA till arrival at Lhe, implying no one at departure airfield knew as well.
This could have been a serious threat to arrival/departures from the rwy.
If TPIS was operative, crew should have got an X on pressure indication when the wheel detached. shouldn't this prompt that something is wrong?

[TomcatTask]

Seems like it came off during takeoff as per Abbas' post.

[TomcatTask]

According to a statement released by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), preliminary observations suggest that the incident may have occurred due to a possible external object striking the runway at Karachi.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/tribune.co ... ed%3famp=1

[TAILWIND]

According to a statement released by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), preliminary observations suggest that the incident may have occurred due to a possible external object striking the runway at Karachi.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/tribune.co ... ed%3famp=1

I doubt. Landing gear is the strongest part of an aircraft. 'External object' strike cannot remove the wheel so cleanly. In my opinion it is the axle nut failure or perhaps loose axle nut.

[planefan2003]

There will be another fatal PIA crash soon if maintenance do not get their act together!