Accident report: B-1B fire caused by brake

  • Published
LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. (AFPN) --  Leaking hydraulic fluid and sparks from its wheel being gouged caused a fire in a B-1B Lancer's right main landing gear as it touched down on Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, after a mission Sept. 15, said Air Force investigators.

The aircraft, assigned to the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., was completing a training mission.

The crew exited the aircraft without injuries. The estimated cost of the damage to the B-1B is more than $32 million. The taxiway was also damaged; cost for repairs is estimated at nearly $184,000.

The incident was set in motion by the migration of the axle beam bushing and failure of the torque tube bushing, which over time allowed the brake to press into the wheel and gouge the rim. The movement of the brake also caused the pin connecting the brake to the brake swivel to break, resulting in a leak in the primary brake hydraulic system.

(Courtesy of Air Combat Command News Service)