A United Airlines plane lost a wheel while taking off on Monday from Los Angeles International Airport, Officials said, marking the latest issue this year for the airline, which was already the focus of a safety review by federal Aviation officials.
The Boeing 757-200 that lost its wheel completed its planned flight to Denver, where it safely landed, United said. No injuries were reported on the ground.
Pilots of an Allegiant flight bound for Tulsa, Oklahoma, were the first to be heard on LiveATC.net reporting the wayward wheel as it bounced across runways and taxiways at LAX and radioed in their report to air traffic control.
“A tire came off that 75 that took off, we saw it rolling down past bravo seven, bravo eight,” said the crew of Allegiant 2388.
Other pilots chimed into air traffic control in real-time, with the crew of another flight saying the tire crossed a parallel runway. Another pilot radioed the wheel had finally stopped near the airport’s southwest corner, about three-quarters of a mile from where it was first seen rolling away.
There were 174 customers and seven crewmembers on board, the airline said.
“The wheel has been recovered in Los Angeles, and we are investigating what caused this event,” the airline said in a statement. The Federal Aviation Administration is also investigating”.
