This is a new incident to add to the recent setbacks of the American aircraft manufacturer Boeing. A 777 model from the American company United Airlines, bound for Japan, had to land on Thursday March 7 in Los Angeles after losing one of its wheels just after taking off from San Francisco.
A video posted online shows a left landing gear tire falling off seconds after the plane left the ground. The tire bounced and ended up in an airport parking lot, damaging several cars, before crossing a fence and stopping in a nearby lot. No one was injured, said Doug Yakel, an airport spokesman.
Fire trucks stood by at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), but they were not needed as the Boeing 777 landed without incident and stopped two-thirds of the way down the runway . LAX spokesperson Dae Levine said the plane landed safely. It was then towed.
The plane was carrying 235 passengers and 14 crew members, United Airlines said. The plane, built in 2002, has six wheels on each of its two landing gears, so it can land safely if a wheel is missing or damaged, she also said.
A “rare phenomenon”
Aviation experts said losing a plane wheel is a rare phenomenon that is not considered a major safety issue. “The other tires are quite capable of carrying the load” of a landing, said Alan Price, a former Delta Air Lines pilot.
This forced landing comes two months after an incident involving another model from the American aircraft manufacturer. At the beginning of January, a door stopper on a Boeing 737 MAX 9, operated by Alaska Airlines, detached from the cabin a few minutes after takeoff. Investigations have been opened by the American authorities in charge of aviation security, and a report from an independent commission appointed by the air regulator has notably pointed out shortcomings in the manufacturer’s safety systems.
But, according to experts, Boeing’s responsibility in the incident this Thursday is not in question. “A loose tire is normally a maintenance issue and not a problem created by the manufacturer,” explained Alan Price. “I don’t see any consequences for Boeing because it was a United maintenance team that changed the tire”added John Cox, retired pilot and professor of aviation safety at the University of Southern California.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the civil aviation control authority in the United States, will investigate, said its spokesperson Tony Molinaro.