On 13 November 2022, a Douglas DC-3C aircraft, registered C-FTGX was being operated by ALCI Aviation Ltd. (ALCI) from Sultan Aji Muhammad Sulaiman Sepinggan International Airport (WALL), Balikpapan to complete calibration of science equipment which was recently installed on the aircraft. ALCI was contracted by Bell Geospace Ltd. (BellGeo) to operate the aircraft to perform a Full Tensor/Airborne Gravity and Magnetic survey.

The flight was conducted under Visual Flight Rules. The aircraft cruised at altitude of 7000 feet, performed the mission at the aircraft altitude between altitude of 250 feet above ground level and 12,000 feet, and flew back to Balikpapan. Prior to departure, the pilots conducted walk around and pre-flight preparation. There was no record of aircraft system malfunction.

At 0741 LT, the aircraft departed Balikpapan and nothing abnormal was indicated during takeoff. On board of the aircraft were two pilots and two BellGeo’s engineers. PIC acted as Pilot Flying, and the SIC acted as Pilot Monitoring.

At the aircraft altitude of 12,000 feet, the pilot performed steep turns, clean and dirty stall maneuvers to check the vibrations of the science equipment. Afterwards, the pilot managed an idle descent to 7,000 feet and configured the aircraft for single engine climb test.

Upon completion of the test, the pilot contacted the Balikpapan tower controller to advise that the aircraft was coming back and asked for clearance for touch-and-go to check the science equipment installation under that condition. The Balikpapan tower controller confirmed the aircraft to perform touch-and-go on Runway 07 once and would come to a complete stop thereafter.

The aircraft touched down at 0958 LT. Subsequently, the pilot heard unusual noise from the right side of the aircraft, while at the same time the right wing rose up. The pilot used the aileron to lower the right wing. When the right wing leveled, the aircraft had veered off to the right side, and the right wheel impacted a runway light. The pilot applied left brake and thrust reverser of the left engine and managed to go back to the runway. No sparks or hydraulic leaks were visually indicated, but through the mirror, the pilot confirmed that the right tire was torn apart.

At 1000 LT the pilot informed the controller that the aircraft lost a tire and confirmed to be able to get off the taxiway without any assistance. The pilot continued taxi to the parking stand with the damaged right wheel and shutdown the engine at 1016 LT. No one injured in this occurrence.

The investigation is continuing, should any further relevant safety issues emerge during the course of the investigation, KNKT will immediately bring the issues to the attention of the relevant parties and publish as required.