I received this communiqué from an aircraft manufacturer. It's yet another example of the hazards of using two different systems.
An aircraft operator reported a Nose Landing Gear explosion due to over inflation. The explosion caused major damage to the lower part of the nose gear (sheared off) and to the nose section of the aircraft. No injuries to personnel were reported. Based on reports, the person performing the servicing tried to inflate the Nose Landing Gear Tire to 88 Bars (1276 psi) instead of 88 psi (6 Bars). It is important to note that 1 Bar is equivalent to approximately 14.504 psi and as such the bar/psi scales are not interchangeable. I am surprised no one was killed. Aircraft tires are placed inside steel cages when inflating tires that have just been mounted on the rims. The Main Tires on the aircraft I fly are inflated to 1.2 MPa ~186 psi. Note that the manufacturer of this aircraft is French and the Tire pressures are expressed in Bars and PSI. Michael Payne
