The pilot showed great control but the passengers inside the LATAM Airlines Airbus A319 probably shook a little during this landing.
The Airbus registered PT-TMO left Rio de Janeiro's Santos Dumont Airport for Congonhas Airport (CGH) in Sao Paulo on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. for a quick flight of around an hour.
During the approach phase, the crew, while extending the landing gear, had doubts about what could be a serious problem: the inner main wheel of the landing gear on the left would be missing.
Feb.
6,#LATAM Airbus A319 (PT-TMO) flight #LA3923 from #RiodeJaneiro Dumont to #SaoPaulo Congonhas has been forced to entertain to Sao Paulo Guarulhos int'l Airport after the pilots reported a gear problem during descent.
📷 ©Golf Oscar Romeohttps://t.co/tALiZ8bNHX#Airbus #A319 pic.twitter.com/5wdL0YhTdI
— FlightMode (@FlightModeblog) February 7, 2024
The crew and authorities decided to divert the flight to Guarulhos International Airport, also in Sao Paulo.
The idea is to be able to carry out a visual check of the landing gear during a low altitude pass over the runway.
According to the Brazilian website Aeroin, air traffic control and a safety team on the runway immediately confirmed that all the landing gears were correctly extended but that the wheel was indeed missing.
A runway side safety device was quickly deployed but the Airbus landed normally thanks to the pilot's control.
The aircraft performed a low-pass for a visual inspection, tower and other ground observers could not detect the inboard left main wheel, then the aircraft safely landed without any issue at Sao Paulo Guarulhos International Airport.https://t.co/z92mx4fuTG pic.twitter.com/twYnwgcSMt
— FlightMode (@FlightModeblog) February 7, 2024
An investigation will have to determine the causes of this rather rare incident as the missing wheel was subsequently found near Santos Dumont airport.