Safety probe finds Ryanair tyres burst after anti-skid deactivated on Milan landing

All four tyres burst on a Ryanair 737 MAX landing at Milan in October 2024.
The anti-skid system had been deactivated due to a persistent fault.
The crew lacked simulator training for such a landing scenario.
A discrepancy in Boeing documentation contributed to the incident.
Ryanair reduced repair windows and mandated new crew briefings.

All four tyres on the main landing gear of a Ryanair aircraft burst on touchdown at Milan Bergamo Airport in October 2024, after the anti-skid braking system had been deactivated due to a persistent fault. The Italian Civil Aviation Safety Investigation Authority (ANSV) found the serious incident resulted from an incorrect sequence of actions unintentionally applied by the flight crew while landing with the system disabled. The Irish-registered Boeing 737-8200 MAX was carrying 162 passengers and six crew members from Barcelona, all of whom were unharmed, though they disembarked on the runway. The incident caused significant damage to the aircraft’s wheels and braking system, as well as extensive damage to the runway, requiring resurfacing before flights could resume later that evening.

The ANSV report identified contributory factors including the crew’s lack of training on flight simulators for landing an aircraft with an inoperative anti-skid system and “less than adequate evidence” in aircraft manuals of a clear sequence of required actions. The anti-skid system had been deactivated the previous day following maintenance checks after a warning light illuminated repeatedly during a series of flights from Barcelona. The aircraft was released for service despite the system being inoperative, as further checks found no specific fault, though later identified a sensor failure linked to one of the two anti-skid channels. An on-duty technician, finding a spare component unavailable, left the system deactivated, and a discrepancy in Boeing documentation about whether an operative channel “must not” or “should not” be deactivated may have contributed to the decision.

Investigators confirmed both the ground crew and pilots correctly planned and prepared for the landing without the anti-skid system and were aware of its implications. The aircraft reached the runway at the correct speed and rate of descent, but pressure was inadvertently applied to the brakes before the speed brakes were deployed, causing them to lock and resulting in the tyre blowouts. Following its own investigation, Ryanair reduced the maximum repair window for fault rectification from 10 days to one flight and made it mandatory for crews to contact a duty pilot for an operational briefing on operating with the system disabled. The ANSV issued three safety recommendations to Boeing concerning the aircraft’s operation with the anti-skid system disabled

The ANSV report shared, “less than adequate evidence” existed in aircraft manuals for a clear sequence of actions.