A Boeing aircraft operated by United Airlines made an abrupt landing at Los Angeles International Airport on Thursday afternoon after losing a tire following takeoff, a United Airlines spokesperson told The Washington Post.
The incident comes after a Boeing 757 plane in January lost a nose wheel while taxiing in Atlanta, which also prompted an FAA probe.
The flight landed safely in Los Angeles around 1:30 p.m., and the airline was arranging a new aircraft for passengers to continue their trip to Japan, the United Airlines spokesperson said. Boeing deferred comment to United Airlines.
The 777-200, which can carry 249 people, has six tires on each of its two main landing gear struts and is designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires, according to United Airlines.
A live stream of planes departing from San Francisco International Airport on Thursday appeared to capture the moment the United flight lost a tire. The video shows a United plane take off and then, seconds later, a tire comes loose from the aircraft’s left landing gear strut and falls to the ground.
Debris from the tire landed in an employee parking lot at San Francisco International Airport, damaging several vehicles, said Doug Yakel, a spokesperson for the airport. No one was injured, and the runway was briefly closed so the debris could be cleared. Footage from local news outlets showed cars and metal fencing dented after the incident.
Boeing faced heavy scrutiny from regulators after a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 Max 9 plane midflight in January, which led the FAA to ground more than 170 jets. Investigations subsequently found loose bolts on some Boeing planes and misdrilled holes on Boeing fuselages in production.
Lori Aratani contributed to this report.
