Sustained substantial damage 16/9/1980 on take off from London Heathrow Airport bound for Miami; a tyre burst during the take off run, and a small fire started in the right hand landing gear. No fatalities, and only one of the 219 passengers and crew sustained serious injuries. According to the following extract from the official AAIB report into the incident: “The accident occurred at the beginning of a flight from London Heathrow to Miami, when a tyre on the right hand landing gear bogie burst during the take off run. The tyre burst was observed by the occupants of a runway clearance vehicle parked to one side of the runway, who reported the tyre burst to the control tower. The message was overhead by the aircraft’s commander, who, as a result, rejected the take off and brought the aircraft to a halt about 110 metres from the end of the runway. A successful evacuation of the aircraft was carried out, using the slides on the left hand side of the aircraft, although one passenger sustained a broken leg during the evacuation. Two localized fires which had developed in the centre and right hand wheel bogies, were extinguished by the Airport Fire Service. It is concluded that the accident was caused by the failure of the No.8 tyre on the right hand landing gear, probably due to the combined effect of an overload condition on a previous flight, and the tyre’s high retread level and age. A contributary factor was the subsequent failure of other tyres on the same gear.” Damage sustained to airframe: The tyres and wheels of the right main landing gear were destroyed, and the braking system was considerably damaged. Debris from the right main gear tyres and wheels punctured the right mainplane, the right inboard flap, and the intake fan of the No.2 engine. Damage was also caused to the remaining tyres, wheels and brakes as a result of the emergency stop. Some gouging of the runway surface also occurred. Despite this, the aircraft was repaired on site at Heathrow, and returned to service by 30/1/1981 (as per the photo below). (This particular DC-10 continued in service with successive owners until 1999, being re-registered N142AA on 19/4/1984; the latter registration was cancelled 29/12/1999)