What hazard is associated with tires and wheel assemblies?

The hazard associated with tires and wheel assemblies primarily involves explosive separation. This can occur due to a number of factors, including overinflation, structural failures, or defects in the tire or wheel assembly. When a tire is under excessive stress—whether from temperature changes, age deterioration, or physical impact—it can fail explosively, posing a significant risk to personnel and equipment nearby. This explosive failure can result in projectiles flying off at high speed, which can cause injury or damage.

Understanding this hazard is critical for anyone working with aircraft tires, as proper maintenance, inspection routines, and adherence to recommended inflation pressures are essential to mitigate the risk of explosive separation. The other choices may represent concerns in different contexts, but they do not specifically denote the immediate and dangerous nature of explosive failures unique to tires and wheel assemblies.