Originally Posted by
742Dash
From the Boeing Flight Crew Training Manual (747), page 8.25:
Tire Failure during or after Takeoff:
"...The crew should consider continuing to the destination unless there is an indication that other damage has occurred...."
"Continuing to the destination will allow the airplane weight to be reduced normally, and provide the crew an opportunity to plan and coordinate their arrival and landing when the workload is low."
777 Flight manual at FedEx which I'm sure is essentially a subset of the Boeing manual has the exact same language. However, there is no "Tire Failure" audible warning or associated EICAS message (like the MD-11). Just "Tire Pressure" which has no associated consequences warranting any significant deviation from normal ops.
Maybe MacD just took a potential high speed tire failure more seriously or there is something inherent with the MD gear that makes it a bigger deal on that jet - idk. Boeing certainly doesn't seem to give it much concern from what I can see.
I think Boeing's guidance is milquetoast at best and leaves an awful lot to luck. Sure, the concept of using your gas instead of fuel jettison is valid. But, unless you are unaware of the blown tire, how does anyone get to the point of retracting the gear after takeoff if they knew they blew one on the roll?
"an indication that other damage has occurred" is pretty vague criteria.
A cut hyd-line is probably going to make itself known pretty quickly, but what about other issues?
What indications are there going to be if flying tire parts have damaged flight control surfaces or gear doors?
Is this a FOD event (a.k.a. Concorde) with potential damage beyond what tire rubber can do?
What indications are there going to be to suspect if retraction or eventual extension is going to be hampered by such damage?
Short of getting a chase ship, there's not going to be any way to be certain of the situation. So, in that case, why would anyone assume the best case scenario?
I guess as I've gotten older and hopefully a little wiser, I usually ask myself if pressing the situation, limits, duty issues, fatigue, whatever is really worth it.