Airbus A380 Lands With Square Tire

When we look down at the wheels of airplanes, we generally see something round. Imagine the surprise when the gate personnel at London Heathrow Airport identified one of the 22 wheels on an Airbus A380 was essentially a perfect square.

The A380 had just landed at Heathrow, and the British Airways flight had arrived after approximately 13 hours of flying from Hong Kong. The Aviation Herald said the pilots reported that a tire pressure warning went off shortly after the departure. Knowing the incident was minor, the crew decided to continue the flight and experienced no trouble during the landing at Heathrow.

So far there are no conclusive answers as to why the tire of the Airbus A380 took on this unusual shape. Several experts have commented on the event, most of whom admit they really have no clue how this could happen. Kumar Mysore from the Royal Aeronautic Society offered up a vague explanation, as reported by the Daily Mail: "The effect is the same as when you squeeze a rubber ring toy with different intensity, it can turn into a different shape. In an A380, for this particular situation, it happens to be squarish."