Narrative:

Shortly before vr we heard a loud bang and the aircraft shuddered slightly. Both engines were operating normally and tire failure was suspected. The stall indication failure and auto spoiler do not use lights were illuminated. The landing gear was left in the down position and checklists completed for annunciated lights. An emergency was declared; the cabin was prepared for an emergency landing and the subsequent landing was uneventful. The aircraft was stopped on the runway and all passengers deplaned via the aft air stairs as soon as transportation was available to the terminal. Significant damage was sustained in the area of the left main gear when the number 1 tire failed. This was the third leg flown in this aircraft and both captain and first officer had completed exterior preflight inspections. Neither crew member noticed anything unusual about the condition of the left main gear or tires.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An MD83 flight crew declared an emergency and returned to their departure airport when a main gear tire failed during the takeoff roll.

Narrative: Shortly before Vr we heard a loud bang and the aircraft shuddered slightly. Both engines were operating normally and tire failure was suspected. The Stall Indication Failure and Auto spoiler do not use lights were illuminated. The landing gear was left in the down position and checklists completed for annunciated lights. An emergency was declared; the cabin was prepared for an emergency landing and the subsequent landing was uneventful. The aircraft was stopped on the runway and all passengers deplaned via the aft air stairs as soon as transportation was available to the terminal. Significant damage was sustained in the area of the left main gear when the number 1 tire failed. This was the third leg flown in this aircraft and both Captain and First Officer had completed exterior preflight inspections. Neither crew member noticed anything unusual about the condition of the left main gear or tires.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.