Expert: Brake issue likely caused all 8 tires to melt on LATAM jet in Atlanta

ATLANTA - All eight rear tires of a LATAM Airlines jet burst and melted during a "rough" emergency landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport Tuesday night, officials said. That's something a former Delta pilot said is abnormal.

The backstory:

The Boeing 767-300, operating as Flight 2482, was arriving from Lima, Peru, around 7:30 p.m. when the tires failed upon touchdown.

Passengers described a harrowing arrival, with one traveler noting the landing felt like the wheels were "rattling on the tarmac" for an unusually long time.

While the plane came to a safe stop, the 221 people on board were stranded on the runway for over two hours before deplaning onto the tarmac and being bused to the terminal.

What they're saying:

Retired Delta Capt. Paul Carr, who flew the 767 for years, called the incident "very odd." He suggested the failure likely wasn't caused by the hard landing itself, but rather a malfunction in the automatic braking system that may have locked the wheels and caused extreme friction.

"That's very odd for all eight tires to blow on a landing," Carr said. "More than likely, the brake system logic... malfunctioned, and it locked up all the brakes and just caused them to blow."

The incident caused a temporary shutdown of Runway 26R but did not significantly impact overall airport operations. No injuries were reported, though photos from the scene showed dislodged cabin panels and a bathroom door that had been knocked off its hinges.

What's next:

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the cause of the mechanical failure.