A wheel reportedly fell off a United Airlines Boeing 757-200 plane seconds after takeoff on Monday, July 8. Alarming video shared by RadarBox shows the moment the tire detached from the plane’s landing gear and fell to the ground seconds after the plane took off.
United later confirmed that a wheel came off at 7 a.m. as Flight 1001 took off from Los Angeles International Airport for Denver. Fortunately, the jet landed safely in Denver about three hours later. None of the crew or passengers were injured.
A United spokesman said the wheel was later found in Los Angeles. The cause of the incident is under investigation. It is unclear whether it caused damage on the ground.
In a very similar incident in March, a Boeing 777-200 to Osaka, Japan, lost a wheel after takeoff from San Francisco. The jet had to be diverted to LAX, where it landed safely. The loose tire damaged several vehicles in the airport parking lot.
Boeing agrees to plead guilty to criminal fraud charges
Years of investigations, lawsuits and whistleblower testimony have left Boeing’s reputation in tatters. Now the company has agreed to plead guilty to criminal fraud charges related to two crashes of 737 Max jetliners. This comes after the government said the company violated an agreement that had shielded it from prosecution for more than three years, according to the Justice Department.
“We can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle with the Department of Justice on terms for a resolution, subject to the establishment and approval of specific conditions,” Boeing said in a statement to ABC News.
The agreement requires the company to pay the maximum legal fine and invest at least $455 million in its compliance and safety programs. However, the deal will need approval from a federal judge to go into effect.