Old 03-25-2008, 10:38 AM
  #3  
UAL T38 Phlyer
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Default Brake-Energy and Aborted Takeoffs

I used to fly the -400. During ground school, they showed us the certification video of the -400 doing a max gross-weight rejected takeoff.

The jet has carbon brakes. As they initiated abort at V1, the jet passed the camera--the brakes were visibly glowing cherry-red to dull-white-hot.

After the abort, it takes about 20-30 minutes, but the heat propagates through the brakes and rim to heat up the nitrogen in the tires. This causes the tire pressure to increase dramatically.

To prevent the tires from blowing up (which can be damaging or lethal), the rims have fuse plugs. Think of it as a hole sealed with lead or solder. This has been true on all 7 types of jets I have flown. They melt and blowout the tire pressure in a controlled fashion.

Probably what happened here.
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