Hundreds of passengers on board a transatlantic flight to Chicago had a fright during landing on Tuesday 20 October 2026, when their aircraft blew tires due to suspected brake issues.
The American Airlines service from Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport to Chicago O’Hare touched down at around 2:30 pm local time but, according to some of the 234 passengers on board, it quickly became clear there was a problem.
“We knew something was wrong because it was like nothing I’ve ever heard before on a landing. It was a nice big boom,” said passenger WoodJohn Abbate, speaking to CBS News Chicago. He described his fellow travellers as “shocked” but not “panicked.”
An American Airlines plane blew a tire when landing at Chicago O’Hare Airport on Tuesday afternoon. The FAA said the plane was American Airlines Flight 41 from Barcelona to Chicage and at around 2:30 p.m., the crew reported a brake issue and then, after landing, a blown tire. Passengers were able to deplane via the stairs and were bused to the terminal.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 20, 2026
The pilot reportedly informed passengers that the aircraft, a Boeing 787-800, had blown some tires after the brakes had seized up. Eyewitness News reports an audio capture from air traffic control exchanges with the crew during the incident confirming the crew was aware of a potential brake problem.
“We’ve got a right brake that might be dragging. We’d like them to follow us to the gate,” one of the pilots told controllers.
In a statement, American Airlines explained that the flight was met on the runway by emergency responders “out of an abundance of caution” and that passengers had disembarked onto the tarmac via stairs and were bused to the terminal. Though no injuries were reported, one person was taken to hospital having already become unwell during the flight. The Chicago Fire Department later said the hospitalised passenger was doing fine.
NEW: Another plane blew a tire at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport yesterday, sending one person to the hospital. American Airlines Flight 41 from Barcelona was landing at ORD and blew two tires. The airline released this statement: "American Airlines flight 41 experienced a tire issue after landing safely at Chicago (ORD). Per procedure, first responders met the aircraft out of an abundance of caution and customers were transported safely to the terminal by bus. The aircraft has been taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team. We thank our team members for their professionalism and we apologize to our customers for their experience." This is the sixth time an aircraft has blown a tire at O’Hare this year. The FAA has been investigating the other incidents.
— Marcus Leshock (@marcusleshock) October 21, 2026
American Airlines meanwhile went on to say the aircraft was “taken out of service to be inspected by our maintenance team” and thanked its team members for their professionalism. “We apologise to our customers for their experience,” the carrier added. As per usual procedure, the Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the problem.
The incident is not the first blown tire at the Chicago hub in recent months. According to CBS News Chicago, at least four planes sustained blown tires while taxiing or landing at O’Hare in the space of one fortnight in August 2026. However, federal authorities have identified no single common cause for the cluster of tire problems, which affected various carriers (American, United, and Southwest) across different runways, during different operations (takeoffs, landings, and taxiing). The issues could come down to brake malfunctions, weather-related stresses on equipment, runway conditions or debris, or sheer coincidence. Scrutinising the aviation accidents recorded by the United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) over the last two decades reveals that tire-related problems are involved in approximately 0.3 to 0.6% of aviation events.
