Saturday, July 13, 2024 A Skywest Bombardier CRJ-900 operating under the Delta Airlines Connection brand blew a tire during its takeoff roll at Grand Rapids Gerald R. Ford International Airport (GRR). Despite the incident, the aircraft continued its flight and landed safely at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) without further complications.
The Skywest CRJ-900, operating as Delta Air Lines Flight 4095, offers nonstop service between GRR and MSP. The flight lasted 70 minutes from takeoff to landing. According to the news, the tire burst occurred during takeoff from runway 26L at GRR.
Although the exact cause of the blowout remains unclear, the runway has a usable distance of 10,001 feet (3,048 meters). The crew opted to continue the takeoff despite the tire blowout, likely because the failure occurred during the high-speed regime of the takeoff (over 100 knots). At such high speeds, rejecting the takeoff could be more dangerous than continuing.
The flight’s relatively short distance of 471 miles also factored into this decision. Upon landing at MSP, a post-flight inspection revealed damage to the inboard flaps. The severity of the damage was minor enough that it did not affect the safe operation of the aircraft.
The aircraft, a 3.4-year-old Bombardier CRJ-900 and the last of its kind produced, returned to service just 21 hours after the incident, indicating the damage was minimal. Aircraft tires are engineered to withstand massive loads, stresses, and temp.
