T'way Air tire incident led to Mayday calls by three flights: CAA

Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) Taiwan's Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said Monday it has launched an investigation after three flights declared Maydays due to fuel concerns.

The emergency calls followed a temporary runway closure at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, which was triggered the previous day when a T'way Air aircraft losing a tire during landing.

The T'way Air flight, arriving from South Korea's Jeju Island, landed on the airport's north runway at 3:52 p.m. Sunday, when its right main landing gear tire detached, according to Taoyuan International Airport Corp.

The aircraft safely taxied to its parking stand, with no injuries reported.

The incident prompted the temporary closure of the north runway for inspections and removal of foreign object debris, with the airport switching to single-runway operations before reopening the runway at 5:35 p.m.

As a result, three subsequent flights -- EVA Air BR392 and BR007, and Hong Kong Airlines HX260 -- declared Maydays due to fuel concerns, the CAA said.

However, all three aircraft landed with fuel levels above the minimum reserve requirement, and the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board said the cases do not meet the threshold for a formal investigation.

The CAA said it is nevertheless reviewing the circumstances surrounding the Mayday declarations.

Lu Yen-liang (盧衍良), head of the Department of Aviation Technology at Chaoyang University of Technology, said the situation resulted from a chain reaction, as the runway closure coincided with a peak arrival period and other operational factors that prolonged airborne holding times.

He said pilots can declare an emergency if they determine remaining fuel could fall below about 30 minutes upon landing, stressing that such decisions are made as a precaution under safety protocols.

Authorities said they will continue to review airport operations and coordination procedures to prevent similar incidents.