Tragedy Averted as Max Air Flight Grounded After Four Tyres Burst During Takeoff

The aircraft, a Boeing 737 with registration number 5N-ADB, was traveling from Yola Airport to Abuja with 119 passengers and six crew members when an incident occurred during takeoff. A loud noise was heard, indicating that the rear gear tires had failed, with two tires initially bursting and the remaining two tires also failing as the aircraft tried to exit the runway, rendering it inoperable. Thankfully, no one was injured or killed.]

The Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau has started investigating the incident, led by Director General Captain Alex Badeh Jr., which will begin on Monday morning.

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In a separate incident in 2023, the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau found that Max Air had overwritten the Cockpit Voice Recorder of a serious incident that occurred on May 7, 2023, at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja. The airline was also accused of being unaware of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s All Operators Letter regarding the continuous overwriting of CVR information.

In that incident, a Max Air aircraft flew from Abuja to Yola as NGL1648 and, after a brief stop, took off again. However, the landing gear was left extended for three minutes due to high temperatures on the ground. Shortly after, Nigerian Air Force personnel reported to Yola Control Tower that an object that looked like a tire had come off the departing NGL1649 aircraft.