The wheels on the bus go round and round...until they don't - Failure analysis regarding rear axle separation from a school bus

A school bus was traveling down a city street when the rear axle separated from the vehicle without warning. This was a public relations nightmare scenario for the school district and bus company. Could this happen to another bus? An investigation was undertaken to find out the root cause of the incident and was used to quell the fears of the community after an initial report regarding the cause was found to be in error.