A 256-pound wheel fell from a United Airlines plane shortly after takeoff in San Francisco, crashing down and crushing parked cars below as it descended to the ground. United Airlines Flight 35 left San Francisco Airport on its way to Osaka, Japan, and was barely off the runway when the wheel of the Boeing 777-200 came off.
The aircraft, carrying 235 passengers and 14 crew members, diverted to Los Angeles Airport after receiving an alert about the landing gear failure at 11:35 a.m. on Thursday. Fire engines were on standby at Los Angeles International Airport, but they were not needed as the plane made an uneventful landing shortly after that.
Scare in Air
This incident adds to a series of negative reports for Boeing, which has faced scrutiny in recent weeks due to various plane-related issues, including an engine failure on a flight leaving from Texas and a mid-air incident in which a door blew out above Oregon.
In the latest incident in San Francisco, multiple vehicles in the employee car parking lot were badly damaged from the falling wheel, which also caused damage to a fence.
Fortunately, the plane landed safely at LAX around 1:20 p.m., with no further incidents reported and no injuries on the ground.
"The 777-200 has six tires on each of its two main landing gear struts. The aircraft is designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires," United said.
Following the incident, a replacement aircraft was arranged to transport the passengers to Japan from LAX.
The incident involving the falling wheel adds to the list of mishaps for Boeing, which has been dealing with recurrent issues related to its troubled 737 Max 8 model.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced on Thursday that it was investigating a United Airlines flight from last month, where the aircraft had "stuck" rudder pedals during the landing rollout.
The preliminary report on the February 6 flight indicates that the plane taxied to the gate at Newark Airport without incident, and fortunately, there were no injuries reported among the 161 passengers and crew on board.
Boeing in Trouble
Just a day earlier, there was another incident involving a United Airlines 737, where one of the engines burst into flames mid-flight, creating a terrifying fireball. The flight, traveling from Houston to Fort Myers, Florida, had to turn around after just 15 minutes. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
The cause of the engine explosion is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The plane involved in the Houston incident was a Boeing 737-900, a model similar to the Max fleet, which had been grounded in January following an exit door blowing out during an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon.
On Monday, the FAA announced that its six-week audit of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems revealed "multiple instances where the companies allegedly failed to comply with manufacturing quality control requirements."
"The FAA identified non-compliance issues in Boeing's manufacturing process control, parts handling and storage, and product control," it said.
"The FAA is providing these details to the public as an update to the agency's ongoing investigation."
The administration announced its decision to continue grounding Boeing's 171 jets and has also suspended the expansion of production for the Boeing 737 MAX. This move comes in response to concerns and findings related to manufacturing quality control issues.
