It depends on how much the aircraft is flown and the conditions in which operated in. Airplane tyres are usually very well built and are extremely durable.
You would be surprised if I tell you that an aircraft tyre can remain in full service to the point where one would be able to see the white chords of the casing ply. The first sights of the chords call for an immediate tyre replacement. Obviously, certain damages need to be analysed to come to a conclusion whether the tyre needs to be taken off. If the tyre got a penetration by a foreign object, it would need a further assessment to see how much damage it suffered. Sometimes the object removal from the tyre is all that is needed to go for flying.
A worn tyre with chords visible.
Flat spots caused by skidding also needs to be carefully inspected because this can cause weakening of tyre casing. The interesting thing about airplane tyres are that they can be repaired and overhauled several times before they have to be completely replaced. So, just because a tyre gets taken off an airplane does not mean it gets discarded.
Author – Anas Maaz ( Airline Pilot )
