United Airlines plane loses wheel over San Francisco airport, debris damages cars

Source: CNA

LOS ANGELES: A United Airlines jetliner bound for Japan made an emergency landing in Los Angeles on Thursday (Mar 7) after a wheel fell off and plunged into an airport parking lot.

A video posted online shows the wheel dropping seconds after the plane takes off at San Francisco International Airport.

The wheel bounced into a car park used by airport employees, the local KRON4 outlet reported, with airport officials saying several cars were damaged.

Fire engines stood by at Los Angeles International Airport but were not needed, as the Boeing 777 made an uneventful landing and stopped about two-thirds of the way down a runway. Airport spokesman Dae Levine said the plane landed safely.

It was then towed away.

The Osaka-bound flight carried 235 passengers and a crew of 14, United said. The airline said that the plane, built in 2002, was designed to land safely with missing or damaged wheels. The passengers will be moved to another plane for the rest of the trip, United said.

Boeing 777s have six wheels on each of the two main landing gears. Video of Flight 35 departing shows the plane losing one of the six wheels on its left-side main landing gear assembly seconds after takeoff.