Experts warn of Maldives airport three years after Emirates incident

Standing water and design elements of aircraft gear led tyres to burst on an Emirates flight landing in the Maldives three years ago, a report found.

An Emirates airlines Airbus takes off from Male airport in October 2013. A wet runway caused tyres burst and main landing gear damaged of one of the flights on touchdown in 2011. Ishara S Kodikara / AShow more

DUBAI // Experts who investigated an incident in which an Emirates aircraft’s tyres burst on landing have warned pilots about the condition of the runway at Male airport in the Maldives.

The Boeing 777’s main landing gear was damaged and two tyres burst as the flight from Sri Lanka touched down at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in December 2011.

Investigators from the General Civil Aviation Authority found deterioration in the runway surface, which led to pools of water forming after two and a half hours of rain.

The aircraft’s junction boxes, which secure parts of the plane that control braking, could not withstand the water load generated on landing.

Junction boxes are two metal containers attached to the landing gear, and damage to them can result in loss of anti-skid control.

The boxes became detached from the plane during landing.

The crew members had felt skidding during the second part of the otherwise normal landing, the investigators' report said.

The aircraft was carrying 232 passengers and 17 crew. No one was injured.

Investigators said the flight crew had no way of knowing about the pools of standing water on the runway.

Despite the heavy rain no efforts were made at the airport to remove the water, and air traffic control told the crew the runway was wet but did not inform them of areas with standing water.

Flight crews need accurate and timely information on runway conditions to make safe landings, the authority said.

Boeing has since made technical modifications to its aircraft.

“The manufacturer has undertaken a review of the junction box attachment design and changes have been made to strengthen the securing straps,” the investigators’ report said.

“Junction boxes on [Boeing 777] aircraft have previously suffered instances of damage.”

The authority is taking steps to make sure its safety recommendations from the investigation are followed, a spokeswoman said.

“Additionally, there is an ongoing task at every transit to inspect the junction boxes,” the authority said.

“Furthermore, coordination is ongoing to confirm the status of strengthening the junction box attachment straps.”