DJ Tyre Blowout At Sydney

[Tim Bowrey]

Yesterday(April 30, 2008) at 4:20pm DJ414 opperated by VH-VBI was begining it's takeoff roll down RWY34L as a giant puff of white smoke was expelled from the aircraft's landing gear. The DJ pilot said he was suffered a tire blowout and there was as object that appeared about 30cm long and 2cm wide which caught his eye about 300m from the 34L threshold about 2m to the left of the centreline.

The Sydney Tower controller(120.5) replied "Your inside left tyre is shreaded" as they exited at Bravo rapid exit. RWY34L was closed for about 20mins as Car 2 and 3 searched the runway for any problems. They said they saw hundreds of little bits of shreaded tyre but no sight of the metal bar(much like the Concorde story). They called the runway to be closed and required a sweep cleaner to come on the runway and clear it ASAP as "QF5 SYD-SIN-FRA" (VH-OJJ) had been holding at A6 for almost this whole time in which all flights were diverted to 34R.

According to Sydney Tower, they were having an interesting conversation with Car 2 saying that an earlier flight "Malaysian Cargo 747-200F" had a very rough landing(very smoking and hard which I saw) according to the MASkargo captain who was contacted.

Runway 34L in total was closed for about 1 hour until BA10 was taxiing for departure and EK419 was about to land. Although there wasnt much good traffic besides a few cargos that arrived/departed it wasn't the best day for spotting until I got a situation like this.

I will post some pics soon, although you can't see much of the popped tyre as it was an inside one.

Thanks for reading!

Tim

[Nigel C]

They said they saw hundreds of little bits of shreaded tyre

Are you a journalist or a budding journalist? You should know that misquoting people is not very nice.

They called the runway to be closed

It wasn't a request, it was a statement. The runway was not available, period, due to debris. In a situation like this, it is a standard procedure.

The holding time of QF5 or indeed any go-arounds or diversions affected by it is not a priority. Making sure the runway is fully serviceable before the next movement, not matter how soon or otherwise, is the priority. If delays are experienced, so be it, but the biggest concern was the fast fading light conditions.

[Tim Bowrey]

Originally Posted by Nigel C

Are you a journalist or a budding journalist? You should know that misquoting people is not very nice.

No im not a jounalist Nigel, i do General English in school. Why are you having a go at me for reporting something i saw happen yesterday? Im not a professional news reporter, nor do i want to be one. Is there anything i can say and you won't get angry?

[NickN]

Jesus how uptight are some people around here. Tim was just calling it for what he saw he wasn't giving a sworn affadavit of exactly what transpired. Nor did he say he was giving his expert opinion. Leave the guy alone.

I for one appreciated the read and thought it was very interesting.

[Steve S... 2]

Looks like Nigel likes to notch up alot of posts - 267 in just over a month.

[Steve S... 2]

Hi Tim,

I hope you post the pics soon, I am interested in the whole event.

Thanks,

Steve S.

[Nigel C]

Originally Posted by Steve S... 2

Looks like Nigel likes to notch up alot of posts - 267 in just over a month.

And your point is...?

I'm not really sure of the relevance of this post to this, or indeed any other topic.

If I've missed something, then please feel free to share!

[Nigel C]

Originally Posted by Tim Bowrey

Why are you having a go at me for reporting something i saw happen yesterday?

Not having a go at you for reporting it, but just asking that you make it factually accurate and not stretch the truth.

And for what it's worth, the runway was closed for about half of your quoted time of 'about 1 hour'

Is there anything i can say and you won't get angry?

I'm not angry, but I am a straight shooter. I'll tell it how I see it, and if that offends you then it's not my problem.
If you come to the Rowers on the 17th, then come and have a talk to me. I won't bite your head off, I promise.

Regards,
Nigel

[NickN]

I'd rather hear from Nigel that would have more accurate information than a post full of hearsay.

Well Nigel didn't post the topic did he so just make do with what you got and appreciate the fact someone put this thread up for those of us who appreciate the info.

I didn't see any rules anywhere which state all posts must be 100% accurate and must not contain traces of hearsay. Tim relayed the info as best he could. If it's not up to your pristine standards of modern journalism, don;t reply.

[Stephen Brown]

Originally Posted by NickN

Well Nigel didn't post the topic did he so just make do with what you got and appreciate the fact someone put this thread up for those of us who appreciate the info.

I didn't see any rules anywhere which state all posts must be 100% accurate and must not contain traces of hearsay. Tim relayed the info as best he could. If it's not up to your pristine standards of modern journalism, don;t reply.

The story was full of sensationalistic Hyperbole

"Giant Cloud of smoke" - Compared to what?

"Like the concorde" - What are DJ flying big white delta winged aircraft now? Did it crash and kill the passengers? I bet the relatives of those who perished on the Concorde wish it was just a blown tyre.

"Hundreds of bits of shredded tyre" - Well was there a count made?

I'd expect this sort of over-reactive reporting in the Daily Telegraph not on a message board. I was waiting for an interview with one of the passengers who 'feared for their lives'.

I, and I know may others, would like to know the real facts not sensationalised pieced together supposition.