In the last three days, two aircraft have lost their wheels; an Austral Líneas Aéreas Embraer ERJ-190 on 16th February and an Air Canada Airbus A319 on 18th February.
The Austral E190 was operating on behalf of Aerolineas Argentinas, flying from Buenos Aires Ministro Pistarini International Airport (EZE/SAEZ) to Rosario Islas Malvinas International Airport (ROS/SAAR).
Its registration is LV-CHQ and the flight number was AR2762. This aircraft was built in November 2010 and is now 9 years old.
After landed at Rosario, the ground staff informed the crew that the left wheel was missing from the nose gear. A runway inspection took place, which found the missing wheel in the grass near the runway.
Pictures also show severe damage to the landing gear. The aircraft is still in Rosario, likely under maintenance.
Argentina’s Junta de Investigación de Accidentes de Aviación Civil (JIAAC) started an investigation on this incident.
A similar incident happened to Air Canada yesterday, 18th February 2020.
The Air Canada Airbus A319 was flying from New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA/KLGA) to Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ/CYYZ).
Its registration is C-GAQL and the flight number was AC715. This aircraft was built in September 1997 and is now 22 years old. 120 passengers and 5 crew were on board the aircraft.
On approach the crew found a problem with the landing gear, they then performed a low approach to have the landing gear inspected from the ground. The inspection revealed that the right outboard main wheel was missing.
The aircraft then landed and stopped safely on runway 23. Passengers were disembarked using mobile stairs onto the runway and bused to the terminal.
The aircraft is still in Toronto, likely under maintenance, and is scheduled to go back into service from 21st February 2020.
Cover Image: La Nacion