Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Aircraft Equipment Problem Critical
Aircraft Aircraft Damaged; Flight Crew Rejected Takeoff; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed; General Maintenance Action
Aircraft
This was our last leg of a 4 leg day. The weather was quite warm but perfect. All events leading up to the rejected takeoff were normal. As the CA and pilot flying. I was given the takeoff clearance. The winds were light; less than 10 knots and almost directly down the runway. Just prior to the First Officer (PNF) calling V1 the airplane started to feel different. It was requiring more rudder to maintain center line and I started to feel a vibration and an unusual noise coming from the aircraft. At V1 I started to lose directional control and aborted the aircraft with maximum braking and maximum reverse. I knew that we had blown tires [at] this point. The aircraft became more difficult to control as we slowed but I managed to keep it [on] center line. The First Officer (PNF) immediately called Tower and told the passengers to 'Remain Seated; Remain Seated' We immediately checked the brake temperature and surprisingly they were all in the green. We ran the aborted takeoff checklist and asked Tower to roll the trucks. There was no indication of fire as the fire handles were not illuminated and per the Fire Department there was no smoke. We shut down the engines and kept the APU running for aircraft cooling as it was extremely hot. The passenger deplaned on the runway with the help of the awesome staff of the Fire Department. After the passengers deplaned we spoke to maintenance and completely powered down the aircraft. We left it disabled on [the runway] with the Fire Department and Maintenance staff.This event; in my opinion; went very smoothly. All procedures were followed and there were no injuries. I managed to keep the aircraft [on] center line and under control. Although it's nearly impossible to prevent what occurred to us. Continuing to have simulator events with different scenarios happening at V1 or just prior is helpful. I recall doing this only just recently in the simulator. I believe it was helpful in my reaction and handling of the aircraft.
EMB-145LR Captain reported rejecting the takeoff just prior to V1 when he experienced blown tire or tires.