A SWISS A330 en route to Chicago was forced to return to Zurich after the crew received an indication of a deflated nose tire. The flight landed safely in Zurich nearly six hours after departure. The airline initially said the plane returned after its landing permission in the US was revoked due to COVID-19 concerns. This was later corrected to reflect the deflated tire warning received by the crew. However, upon landing, emergency services found the tire to have no issues.
Deflated nose tire warning
The aircraft involved is a 7-year-old A330-300 delivered new to SWISS in April 2013, according to Planespotters.net. The plane has had no major incidents, minus a lavatory issue late last year and slight damage to the wing after the plane struck an empty transport bus in 2013.
The SWISS A330 planned to fly from Zurich to Chicago on July 9th, under flight number LX 8. The flight left Zurich 12 minutes late, flying over France and the UK on its way to the US. While northwest of Glasgow, at 36,000 feet, the crew received an indication warning them of a deflated nose tire.
Approximately 90 minutes into the flight, according to Flightradar24, the crew decided to return to Zurich due to the issue. However, the plane had to burn fuel before landing, requiring a longer route and hold over Zurich. The flight safely landed at Zurich airport 5 hours and 45 minutes after departure.
Upon landing, emergency services surveyed the plane and found no anomaly with the tire. The landing was successful too, indicating no fault with the tire. This could mean the indicator itself may have been at fault, however, this will be investigated by the airline and authorities.
Conflicting explanations
SWISS initially told the press that the aircraft had to return to Zurich because its landing US permission had been withdrawn, due to COVID-19 concerns. This would be highly unusual since landing permission is rarely revoked once a flight is in the air (barring changes on the ground).
The airline then corrected its statement, citing the deflated tire warning as the reason for return. It is unknown if the indicator mentioned one or both tires were deflated. Planes can land with one tire safely deflated, but require a lower weight. This is likely why the plane spent more time in the air, burning fuel to reduce weight.
The US ban on European travelers, and vice-versa, is still in place. This means airlines are operating very few flights between the regions, seeing little passenger demand. Passengers on the affected SWISS flight were flown to Chicago on a replacement A330, reaching 8 and a half hours late.
SWISS resumes flights
SWISS is currently in the midst of expanding operations, bringing aircraft back into service and resuming routes. The airline currently has over 20% of its flights back in the air, flying mostly European services and a small number of long-haul routes. The Zurich-Chicago route was a part of the recent route resumption.
The airline is slowly emerging from the turbulent months of March and April, which saw it defer aircraft orders and negotiate a bailout. SWISS is a part of the Lufthansa Group, which was faced with possible financial collapse until it reached an agreement for a massive $9bn bailout.
For the A330 involved in the incident, the plane will go through maintenance to identify and solve the tire pressure issue. The aircraft will be out of service for now but could return to the skies once it’s been certified. SWISS will continue to expand its network, adding more flights as flying picks up once again.
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