Alert 10 – 25 Welding on a Truck Tire Rim Results in a Serious Injury
WHAT HAPPENED:
A truck rim had a hairline crack and the maintenance personnel decided to repair it by welding. After welding on the rim, a new tire was mounted to the rim and pressured to 20 to 40 psi to test the weld. Leaks were found on the hub weld so the person in charge decided to weld the leaking areas from the hub side while pressure was inside the tire. A few minutes after the welds were completed a violent release of energy from the tire launched it from the floor of the shop to the roof. The incident occurred inside a transport maintenance workshop where support and maintenance activities were being performed. The explosion resulted in two (2) fatalities and two (2) injured persons among the (8) people that were in the workshop at the time, and 3 others who were nearby.