SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/Asia News Network): A Scoot plane from South Korea to Singapore found its left nose wheel missing upon landing in Taipei for a scheduled stop on Monday (June 19) morning.
No one was injured.
According to the local media, the wheel fell off when Scoot Flight TR897 landed at Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport at 12.06am on Monday.
Photos online show the left nose wheel missing from the aircraft parked at the airport.
The affected plane was a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, whose landing gear near the front of the aircraft – or nose – has two wheels.
The nose wheel helps an aircraft to manoeuvre on the ground and maintain directional control during take-off and landing.
Dr Ng Bing Feng, an assistant professor at Nanyang Technological University’s School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, said the wheel could have been dislodged during take-off or landing because of loose nuts.
He said the main landing wheels at the back of an aircraft bear the majority of its weight, while about 15 per cent of the load is supported by the nose wheel.
“When one nose wheel goes missing, the aircraft load will have to be borne by the remaining nose wheel,” said Dr Ng, adding that most large commercial aircraft have two wheels within the nose gear assembly.
“However, the aviation industry is highly regulated, (and) safety factors have to be embedded in the design of aircraft components, so that incidents like this will pose little safety risk,” he said.
In response to queries, a Scoot spokesman said a technical fault was detected upon landing in Taipei on Monday.
The flight, which was to depart from Taipei for Singapore at 1.30am on Monday, was subsequently cancelled, he added.
A recovery flight leaving Taipei at 8.45pm the same day was arranged to ferry all remaining passengers.
According to Changi Airport’s website, the flight was supposed to arrive at Changi Airport at 5.55am on Monday, but was rescheduled to arrive at 1.35am on Tuesday.
The Scoot spokesman apologised for the disruption caused, adding that hotel accommodation and flight refunds have been arranged for passengers where applicable.
“The safety of our customers and crew is our top priority and we will continue to provide assistance to affected customers where necessary,” he said.
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