A routine international flight turned into a terrifying touchdown Tuesday night when a LATAM Airlines jet slammed onto the runway at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Airport so hard that its rear tires exploded on impact.
Flight 2482, a 17-year-old Boeing 767-300ER arriving from Lima after more than seven hours in the air, experienced what federal officials described as a “significant landing event.” According to an initial FAA report, all rear tires blew out at once, triggering an immediate emergency response.
Passengers say the landing was far more violent than anything they’d felt in the air.
“The entire aircraft was shaking,” one traveler told WSB-TV2, still visibly rattled. “A wheel was rattling. The bathroom door came off. People started looking around like, ‘Is this really happening?’”
Another passenger, Liza Karseno, said the mood shifted instantly as the plane hit the runway.
“We were landing fine,” she said. “And then it sounded like — or felt like — the wheels had popped off. You could tell something was very wrong.”
Airport fire and rescue teams raced toward the disabled jet as the aircraft ground to a halt, sparks and smoke trailing from the blown landing gear. Crews surrounded the plane within minutes as stunned passengers looked out their windows at the damage.
No injuries were reported, but video taken after the landing shows the rear gear heavily damaged, with shredded rubber strewn across the runway.
Aviation experts say tire blowouts during landing are rare, especially on large commercial jets. “It usually signals extreme stress on touchdown,” one former NTSB investigator told this outlet. “It can be a hard landing, mechanical failure, or a structural issue. The FAA will be taking this very seriously.”
LATAM has not yet released a detailed explanation for what went wrong. A spokesperson said the airline is “cooperating fully with the investigation” and is working to support passengers who endured the rough landing.
For many onboard, the fear didn’t fade after exiting the aircraft.
“It felt like the ground just came up and punched the plane,” another passenger said. “I fly a lot. I’ve never experienced anything like that.”
The FAA’s investigation is underway.
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