A Boeing 777-200 plane lost a wheel on takeoff from San Francisco airport. The falling wheel damaged vehicles, but did not injure anyone. This incident comes as Boeing faces significant difficulties with its 737 Max model, which has damaged public confidence.
This is a spectacular sequence, captured on video on March 7, 2024. As a United Airlines aircraft left San Francisco airport, heading to Osaka in Japan, one of the six wheels attached to the undercarriage The main landing gear, on the left, suddenly detached. It then fell again, while the plane continued its ascent.
The lost wheel then bounced to the ground and moderately damaged a few cars parked in a parking lot, reports the American press. There were no injuries and the passengers on the plane — a Boeing 777 — were rushed off the plane in Los Angeles. There were 235 passengers on board, as well as 4 pilots and 10 crew members.
Other planes have lost wheels in the past
Like other aircraft models, the Boeing 777 inevitably has a certain history of incidents and accidents. However, the loss of a wheel is a very rare event. Other 777s have experienced this type of problem, such as in 2017, during a Montreal – London flight. The same goes for 757 models or those of the competition, like this Airbus A319.
In a press release, the United States Civil Aviation Administration (FAA – Federal Aviation Administration) took note of the incident, which will give rise to an investigation. For its part, United Airlines praised the composure and professionalism of the crew. The plane’s manufacturer, Boeing, has not yet responded.
The American manufacturer has been going through a very difficult time in recent years, and is suffering a gradual erosion of public confidence, due to the regular setbacks encountered by the 737 Max. Even at the beginning of the year, new weaknesses were detected in the aircraft – a partition had come off in flight due to the absence of fixing bolts.
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