Narrative:

[The aircraft] departed; then taxied out towards [the runway] when he pulled off the taxiway and called for maintenance to come look at his #2 wheel due to increasing brake temp; and an earlier report from the pushback crew that the tire was 'wobbling'. [Three] mechanics responded and drove out to the south cargo ramp; where it was immediately obvious that something was very wrong with #2 tire; it was cocked at an odd angle and on closer inspection there was torn metal on the inside of the wheel; with possible damage to the brake assembly. A decision was made to offload the passengers onto busses; transfer cargo to a new aircraft; and the hangar crew was called to replace the wheel and assess damage to the brake and axle.my problem with this whole event is that the pilot; told the hangar crew chief that on pushback; the ramp tug driver had called up to him on intercom that they were halting the pushback prematurely to have the #2 wheel checked out because it was wobbling. Then a few minutes later; he informed the pilot that the tire had been checked out and was ok. No call was made to maintenance; so I am guessing that the rampers checked the wheel themselves; or maybe called their lead; and they determined the wheel was serviceable. The tug driver then informed the pilot that the wheel had been checked; and was 'ok'; which led the pilot to believe that the wheel had been checked by maintenance; which it was not. This is far beyond the scope of their job; and in this case; could have caused a serious; if not catastrophic accident. The wheel was obviously damaged; and if the ramp thought the wheel was 'wobbling' maintenance technicians should have been called immediately to check it out.passengers had to be offloaded onto busses on the south cargo ramp; cargo downloaded and catering accomplished there as well. Hangar crew removed #2 wheel; inspected axle; and replaced #2 wheel and brake assys.what I would like to see happen is for the ramp pushback crews to be properly trained on when to call maintenance; some of them are quick to call us out for non-events like scuffed paint and dents that have damage file stickers right next to them; but again; I feel this is event was far more serious; and I am thankful the push crews' failure to call maintenance didn't cause any further damage to the aircraft or injury to our passengers.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Lead Technician reported that when called out to check the Main Landing Gear wheel on an A320; due to high brake temperature; found it unserviceable after the ground crew released the aircraft calling the wheel okay.

Narrative: [The aircraft] departed; then taxied out towards [the runway] when he pulled off the taxiway and called for maintenance to come look at his #2 wheel due to increasing brake temp; and an earlier report from the pushback crew that the tire was 'wobbling'. [Three] mechanics responded and drove out to the south cargo ramp; where it was immediately obvious that something was very wrong with #2 tire; it was cocked at an odd angle and on closer inspection there was torn metal on the inside of the wheel; with possible damage to the brake assembly. A decision was made to offload the passengers onto busses; transfer cargo to a new aircraft; and the hangar crew was called to replace the wheel and assess damage to the brake and axle.My problem with this whole event is that the pilot; told the Hangar Crew Chief that on pushback; the ramp tug driver had called up to him on intercom that they were halting the pushback prematurely to have the #2 wheel checked out because it was wobbling. Then a few minutes later; he informed the pilot that the tire had been checked out and was ok. No call was made to maintenance; so I am guessing that the rampers checked the wheel themselves; or maybe called THEIR lead; and they determined the wheel was serviceable. The tug driver then informed the pilot that the wheel had been checked; and was 'ok'; which led the pilot to believe that the wheel had been checked by maintenance; which it was not. This is far beyond the scope of their job; and in this case; could have caused a serious; if not catastrophic accident. The wheel was obviously damaged; and if the ramp thought the wheel was 'wobbling' maintenance technicians should have been called immediately to check it out.Passengers had to be offloaded onto busses on the south Cargo Ramp; cargo downloaded and catering accomplished there as well. Hangar crew removed #2 wheel; inspected axle; and replaced #2 wheel and brake assys.What I would like to see happen is for the ramp pushback crews to be properly trained on when to call maintenance; some of them are quick to call us out for non-events like scuffed paint and dents that have damage file stickers right next to them; but again; I feel this is event was far more serious; and I am thankful the push crews' failure to call maintenance didn't cause any further damage to the aircraft or injury to our passengers.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.