A United Airlines Boeing 777-200 aircraft bound for Kansai International Airport (KIX) in Osaka had to divert to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) after one of its tires slipped off after takeoff.
Flight UA 35 departed San Francisco International Airport (SFO) at 10:53 local time on March 7, 2024.
Shortly after the flight took off, however, one of the aircraft’s six tires fell off, damaging cars in a parking lot as it plummeted to the ground.
Footage captured the moment the 256-pound (116 kilograms) tire slipped off the B777-200’s landing gears.
Subsequent video clips showed the damage that the fallen tire caused on vehicles in a parking lot next to the airport runway.
The airliner immediately diverted and made an emergency landing back at LAX airport, where it was able to safely land at 13:17 local time.
All 235 passengers, ten cabin crew and four pilots were safe.
Ground personnel from LAX were seen on a video clip inspecting the aircraft shortly after landing.
United Airlines arranged another B777-200 aircraft to take the passengers onward to KIX airport. The flight is currently enroute to Japan where it is expected to arrive past midnight on March 9, 2024.
An airline spokesperson told The New York Post that the tire landed in an employee parking lot at SFO airport and caused damage to several vehicles. The spokesperson also said that the aircraft is designed to land safely even when tires are either missing or damaged.
This is the second United flight incident to occur in less than a week. On March 4, 2024, a United Airlines Boeing 737-924’s left engine burst into flames en route to Fort Myers. The incident forced the pilot to initiate an emergency landing in Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).