A Max Air Boeing 737, carrying 119 passengers and six crew members, experienced a rear gear tire blowout during takeoff from Yola Airport en route to Abuja. The incident occurred when the aircraft, flight NGL1649 with registration 5N-ADB, was cleared for takeoff.
According to a statement released by the Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Bimbo Oladeji, at 11:22 pm on Sunday, the aircraft’s first rear gear tires burst, followed by the remaining two tires as the plane attempted to taxi off the runway.
“This evening, Max Air’s flight NGL1649, a Boeing 737 with registration 5N-ADB, carrying 119 passengers and six crew members, was cleared for takeoff from Yola Airport en route to Abuja. During the takeoff roll, a loud bang was heard, identified as the bursting of the rear gear tyres. Initially, two tyres burst. While attempting to taxi off the runway, the remaining two tyres also burst, rendering the aircraft completely disabled,” Oladeji stated.
Fortunately, no injuries or fatalities were reported from the incident.
Oladeji added, “A go-team, led by NSIB Director General Captain Alex Badeh Jr., will visit the incident site tomorrow morning to conduct an investigation.”
This incident follows a 2023 NSIB report that criticized Max Air for overwriting the Cockpit Voice Recorder (CVR) of a serious incident that occurred on May 7, 2023, during landing at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. The report accused the airline of ignoring the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority’s All Operators Letter (NCAA/FSG/AOL/19/03) regarding the continuous overwriting of CVR information.
The 2023 incident involved another Max Air flight, NGL1648, which had departed Abuja for Yola. After a brief 30-minute ground stop in Yola, the aircraft took off for Abuja. During the takeoff, the landing gear was left extended for three minutes to allow cooling due to the high temperature on the ground at Yola Airport. At 2:08 p.m., Nigerian Air Force personnel from the Air Force Hangar near runway 35 reported to Yola Control Tower that an object, appearing to be a tire, had fallen off the departing NGL1649.
As the investigation into the recent tire blowout incident continues, the NSIB and relevant authorities are working to ensure the safety and reliability of Max Air’s operations.