Narrative:

The flight attendant called the cockpit and advised a passenger had noticed a piece of rubber that flew off the left inboard tire on take off roll. The PIC called dispatch and coordinated with maintenance. The PIC sent the sic back to the cabin to get a visual look of the tire with the gear in the down position. He returned saying no visible damage noticed. As a precautionary action the PIC declared an emergency with approach and called for the emergency landing checklist. After completion of the checklist; runway xx was selected as this would provide for a right crosswind. A normal landing was made keeping the left tire off the ground as long as possible and brought down softly. No brakes were used on the runway. After turning off the runway the PIC stopped the aircraft and had the sic go back and visually inspect the tire again from the cabin. The sic returned with no visual damage noticed. The PIC continued to taxi to the gate with caution. Once at the gate the PIC met the field mechanic outside by the tires who the PIC that the tire pressure was adequate. The mechanic also informed the PIC that there appeared to be some residue left from tar that he suspected the tire had picked up from the runway and flung off during the take off roll. Returning to the cockpit to write the incident in the logbook; the PIC noticed two FAA agents approaching the aircraft. The PIC then met the two agents and shared the above information with them. After doing so; the PIC finished the write up and gave the logbook to the mechanic to finish signing it off.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: The Captain of a DHC8-300 declared an emergency for landing based on a passenger's report of rubber separating from one main gear tire on takeoff. The observation turned out to be inaccurate.

Narrative: The Flight Attendant called the cockpit and advised a passenger had noticed a piece of rubber that flew off the left inboard tire on take off roll. The PIC called dispatch and coordinated with maintenance. The PIC sent the SIC back to the cabin to get a visual look of the tire with the gear in the down position. He returned saying no visible damage noticed. As a precautionary action the PIC Declared an Emergency with Approach and called for the Emergency Landing Checklist. After completion of the checklist; Runway XX was selected as this would provide for a right crosswind. A normal landing was made keeping the left tire off the ground as long as possible and brought down softly. No brakes were used on the runway. After turning off the runway the PIC stopped the aircraft and had the SIC go back and visually inspect the tire again from the cabin. The SIC returned with no visual damage noticed. The PIC continued to taxi to the gate with caution. Once at the gate the PIC met the field mechanic outside by the tires who the PIC that the tire pressure was adequate. The mechanic also informed the PIC that there appeared to be some residue left from tar that he suspected the tire had picked up from the runway and flung off during the take off roll. Returning to the cockpit to write the incident in the logbook; the PIC noticed two FAA agents approaching the aircraft. The PIC then met the two agents and shared the above information with them. After doing so; the PIC finished the write up and gave the logbook to the mechanic to finish signing it off.

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.