Terrifying moment wheel falls of United airplane taking off from San Francisco airport and crushes cars parked below
- Boeing 777-200 took off and wheel came off seconds later, around 11:35 am
- Cars were destroyed below and the plane was diverted to Los Angeles
- Latest accident for Boeing after Alaska Airlines blowout and engine explosion
A 256-pound wheel fell from a plane as it took off, crushing cars where it landed after hitting the ground.
United Airlines Flight 35 left San Francisco airport en route to Osaka, Japan and had barely cleared the runway when the Boeing 777-200’s steering wheel came loose.
The plane carrying 235 passengers and 14 crew members was diverted to Los Angeles airport at 11:35 a.m. Thursday after being warned of a landing gear failure.
A 256-pound wheel fell from a plane as it took off, crushing cars where it landed after hitting the ground
United Airlines Flight 35 left San Francisco Airport en route to Osaka, Japan and had barely left the runway when the Boeing 777-200’s steering wheel came loose
Several vehicles in the staff parking lot were severely damaged by the falling wheel, which also destroyed a fence.
The plane landed safely at LAX around 1:20 p.m. without further incident and no injuries were reported on the ground.
“The 777-200 has six straps on each of the two main landing gear struts. The aircraft is designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires,” United said.
A new plane was being prepared to take the passengers to Japan from LAX.
The falling wheel was the latest mishap for a Boeing aircraft after repeated problems with the ailing 737 Max 8.
The National Transportation Safety Board said Thursday it was investigating a United Airlines flight last month in which the rudder pedals “stuck” during landing.
Several vehicles in the staff parking lot were severely damaged by the falling wheel, which also destroyed a fence
A preliminary report on the Feb. 6 flight shows that the plane taxied to the gate at Newark Airport without incident and that there were no injuries to the 161 passengers and crew.
Just a day earlier, one of the engines of another United Airlines 737 burst into flames mid-flight in the terrifying fireball.
The flight from Houston to Fort Meyers, Florida, had to turn around after just fifteen minutes. No one was injured,
The cause of the explosion is not yet known but is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
The model of the plane in the Houston incident was a Boeing 737-900, a similar aircraft to the Max fleet that was grounded in January after an exit door blew out during an Alaska Airlines flight over Oregon.
The FAA said Monday that its six-week audit of Boeing and Spirit AeroSystems found “multiple instances in which the companies allegedly failed to meet production quality control requirements.”
One of the engines of another United Airlines 737 burst into flames mid-flight in the terrifying fireball
Bolts appear to be missing from the door plug that blew out of a Boeing 737 MAX during an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5
“The FAA identified regulatory compliance issues in its audit of Boeing’s manufacturing process, parts handling and storage, and product control,” the report said.
“The FAA is providing these details to the public as an update to the agency’s ongoing investigation.”
The government announced it would continue to ground Boeing’s 171 jets and had halted production expansion of the Boeing 737 MAX.
The news was a blow to the aircraft manufacturer, which saw its market value plummet by $30 billion in the aftermath of the disaster.
Boeing’s stock price also fell 20 percent in the month after the hit.
The manufacturer also faces the threat of legal action, including from passengers who say they were traumatized by their experiences on board the Alaska Airlines flight.