SAN FRANCISCO — A tire fell off a United Airlines flight as it took off from San Francisco International Airport on Thursday, initially bound for Japan. The diverted plane later landed safely at LAX.
“At approximately 11:35 a.m., United Flight 35 departing to Osaka lost a portion of landing gear tire during takeoff,” a United representative said.
The tire debris landed in one of the airport’s employee parking lots. There were no injuries reported.
Fire engines stood by at Los Angeles International Airport but weren’t 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 777-200 has six tires on each of its two main landing gear struts. The aircraft is designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires,” the airline said.
The 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 tires. The passengers will be moved to another plane for the rest of the trip, United said.
ideo of Flight 35 departing shows the plane losing one of the six tires on its left-side main landing gear assembly seconds after takeoff.
Tire debris landed in an on-airport employee parking lot at San Francisco International Airport, airport spokesman Doug Yakel said in a statement. No one was injured. The runway was briefly closed to clear debris, but it has now reopened, he said.
The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate, spokesman Tony Molinaro said.
ABC7 Chicago’s sister station KGO-TV contributed to this report
Copyright © 2024 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.