Maintenance Airframe; Maintenance Powerplant
Maintenance Lead Technician 28
Time Pressure; Workload
Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General Maintenance Action
Human Factors; Staffing
The aircraft arrived with an inbound [log write-up] for a brake issue that required a brake change. The tire in question had been written up as low pressure in flight. Found valve core loose and serviced. No leaks noted. The Aircraft Maintenance Manual (AMM) limits for tire pressure low were not read because all available manpower was at the aircraft; and there was no access to them outside the shop. AMM requires tire change and mate on axle changed when taxied with low pressure. This is what was overlooked. The brake change required all available manpower. The tire pressure item was lower on the priority list; as the brake was causing a delay and taking all the attention. There were no obvious defects to the low pressure tire other than the valve core being loose; it did not leak after being serviced. This would be alleviated if we had more manpower; more ground time than 1:50 to perform ETOPS checks; and portable AMM access. The brake on this aircraft is heavy; and was very hot from landing. It could have been deferred per MEL but the outbound weight of the aircraft precluded this option; dispatcher would not allow.
The maintenance technicians did not recognize that a tire that was operated with low pressure required a replacement along with the adjacent tire. This is due to the loads imposed upon the tires while operated in this condition.