Robert Clifford, founder and senior partner at Clifford Law Offices, was interviewed on WGN radio about five aircraft tire failures that occurred at O’Hare and Midway International airports in August, a continuing concern for the flying public and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
Clifford said discussions on this issue with his aviation experts concluded that the cause of the tire failures had to be from either “really bad maintenance of inflating these tires properly or someone is trying to extend the life of these tires,” putting the traveling public’s safety at risk.
Clifford spoke on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, on “The Lisa Dent Show” on WGN 780 AM in Chicago.
In response to a question from Dent, Clifford said debris on the runway is highly unlikely. “There’s no evidence of pavement conditions being at fault,” Clifford said. “The simple fact is that when the rubber meets the road (please forgive the pun), these people [the aircraft operators and maintenance staff] are letting us down.”
Instead, Clifford pointed to the necessary high cost of maintenance and how airlines try to cut corners. “We’ve been so lucky that nothing has happened so far. Lives are at risk,” Clifford said. He went on to explain that operators should not always be seeking the cheapest alternative. “Operators should use in-house staff instead of hiring outside maintenance contractors to be responsible for this important task.
Dent intensely questioned Bob about what should be done to fix the problem. “The FAA needs to beef it up and do its job and do it better across the country,” Clifford said. “The FAA is supposed to be there to protect us, and they are letting us down.”
Dent pointed out that tire mishaps have been reported in other cities as well, including Phoenix and Omaha.
Bob stated that if cases develop, “We are willing to bring our experts to the courtroom to show what happened. They were unanimous in telling me that the airline operators are trying to keep their operational costs low. And he said it’s not just tires that operators are trying to extend the life of, even if it endangers the public. “It’s other aircraft parts, too.”
“We need people to speak up,” Clifford said, referring specifically to families of victims of the Ethiopian Boeing 737 MAX8 crash in 2019 who vigorously advocated for safety over the years. “The flying public has to demand and really insist that these companies be held accountable.”
Clifford concluded by saying people willing to come forward and advocate for improved aviation safety could make a significant contribution to the fight for reforms. “These things matter,” he said.