conehead Posted February 20, 2019 Share Posted February 20, 2019 SANTA ANA, Calif. — A worker at Southern California’s John Wayne Airport was killed when a large tire from a jet bridge used to connect terminals to aircraft doors exploded during maintenance, officials said Wednesday. Two contract employees were in a workshop disassembling the tire when the explosion happened late Tuesday, said airport spokeswoman Deanne Thompson. The blast set off a fire alarm that summoned airfield rescue crews. “One of the men sustained fatal injuries due to the force of the explosion,” Thompson said. He died at the scene. The other worker did not seek treatment. The state’s workplace safety agency, known as Cal-OSHA, will investigate. The agency didn’t immediately return a call and an email requesting more information. https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/california-airport-worker-dies-when-jet-bridge-tire-explodes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boestar Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 Tires should ALWAYS be treated with respect and caution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 3 minutes ago, boestar said: Tires should ALWAYS be treated with respect and caution. I agree but you do have to wonder, how do you "safe' a suspected tire that is mounted and attached a mechanism? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boestar Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 there are mobile cages if you are working on them. The cage prevents the rim from departing the area. You roll the cage around the tire then release the pressure in the tire to make it "Safe" The only safe tire is a deflated tire with the valve core REMOVED. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 25 minutes ago, boestar said: there are mobile cages if you are working on them. The cage prevents the rim from departing the area. You roll the cage around the tire then release the pressure in the tire to make it "Safe" The only safe tire is a deflated tire with the valve core REMOVED. I KNOW about cages, it will be however interesting to learn if such as device exists for the tire in question in the installed configuration. However closer to home, what about main gear or nose aircraft tires on a "Heavy". I know once they are off how they are treated or at least how they 'WERE' contained (same as any other split ring unit (metal cage) but what about when mounted on the aircraft? When shipped (movement of spares / rotables) they always were deflated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.O. Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 The tire had been removed from the bridge. They were in a nearby workshop when the explosion occurred. And I agree with boestar, the only safe way to handle a used wheel assembly is either fully deflated or in an inflation cage. I was once in a hangar where a Citation wheel exploded while a technician was adding nitrogen to it. The wheel casting failed along the rim edge. That casting sliced into two drawer fronts on a Snap On tool box like a hot knife going through butter. It was parked 30 feet from the aircraft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boestar Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 when the tire is installed on the tim it immediately goes into a cage and is OVERINFLATED for a defined period. it is then deflated to a "shipping pressure" sometimes the tires are stored close to operating pressure. if handled correctly there is no issue. We ship wheels all over the country and I have never heard of one failing during shipping. In service is another story. Tie bolts can fail or damage to the rim even a heavy landing can cause damage. This is when you need to be most cautious. oddly most of the failures that cause human injury are caused by the person that got injured. Overinflation of the tire is likely the #1 cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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