Link SF34 at Canberra on Jan 29th 2026, dropped main wheel on departure
Last Update: May 28, 2026 / 13:41:00 GMT/Zulu time
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Jan 29, 2026
Classification
Incident
Airline
Link Air
Flight number
LR-201
Departure
Canberra, Australia
Destination
Newcastle, Australia
Aircraft Registration
VH-VEZ
Aircraft Type
SAAB 340
ICAO Type Designator
SF34
The ATSB opened an investigation into the occurrence.
The aircraft returned to service the following day.
On May 28th 2026 the ATSB released their final report concluding the probable causes of the incident were:
During take-off, the left main landing gear inboard wheel bearings failed, resulting in the wheel separating from the aircraft. The cause of the bearing failure could not be determined.
The ATSB analysed:
As the aircraft rotated, the left inboard main landing gear wheel separated from the aircraft. Post-flight inspection of the aircraft identified that the axle nut remained secured on the end of the axle. As such, the potential mechanisms for wheel detachment were limited to a fracture of the wheel or bearing failure.
The level of damage to both bearings, and the absence of any identified pre-existing cracking or defect on the fractured hub pieces supported failure of the bearings as the initiating event. The hub fracture was assessed as secondary, the result of abnormal loading during continued wheel rotation with collapsed bearings.
The bearing failure allowed the wheel to move axially outward, pass over the axle nut, and separate once it was no longer restrained on the landing gear axle.
A bearing failure may have resulted from various initiating factors including:
- material or manufacturing defect
- improper installation
- insufficient lubrication
- corrosion
- material fatigue
- contamination by foreign material.
The condition of the bearing races and the other retained bearing fragments did not provide clear evidence as to an initiating event for the failure. Maintenance records indicated that the wheel was installed and maintained in accordance with the relevant maintenance instructions, and there was a history of replacement of the bearing components.
Additionally, all components were inspected during the overhaul on 26 November 2025 prior to being installed on VH-VEZ, and the wheel had subsequently completed 271 cycles on VH-VEZ. Taken together, they opposed failure being the result of an installation or maintenance error.
Incident Facts
Date of incident
Jan 29, 2026
Classification
Incident
Airline
Link Air
Flight number
LR-201
Departure
Canberra, Australia
Destination
Newcastle, Australia
Aircraft Registration
VH-VEZ
Aircraft Type
SAAB 340
ICAO Type Designator
SF34
This article is published under license from Avherald.com. © of text by Avherald.com.
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