Put this video on the list of things that aren’t supposed to happen. On Friday, Air Canada Express (operated by Jazz) flight AC8684 experienced a loss of one of the right tire of the left main gear on departure.
The Bombardier Dash-8 Q300 turboprop flight was scheduled to operate from Montreal to Saguenay. In the video, you can see the tire sparking on departure. As the aircraft rotates, the wheel separates from the gear assembly. Not a sight you want to see as a passenger (or as a pilot for that matter). The video, posted by Plane Spotting Aviation on YouTube is seen below.
Fortunately, the main landing gear has two tires. The flight made an emergency return where the pilot made a safe landing on the remaining main gear tire without further incident. The cause of the incident has not been released.
About the Dash 8 family
The Dash-8 is a rough and tumble turbo-prop family of aircraft. The smallest and oldest -100 offers the ability to connect very small fields to larger transportation network. It accommodates between 37-39 passengers. It first flew in 1984. The larger -300–the same aircraft as the incident in this story– can accommodate between 50-56 passengers. The -300 version first flew in 1989.
The largest -400 (also known as the Q400) is the longest stretch version of the aircraft. It features more powerful engines, a more modern cabin, and can accommodate up to 78 passengers. The Q400 has a service ceiling of 27,000 feet. Unrelated and somewhat infamously, the Q400 was the same type of aircraft that was stolen by a distraught employee and later crashed near Seattle back in 2018.
