A United Airlines flight lost a landing-gear wheel when it took off from Los Angeles International Airport on Monday. Even with this alarming incident, the aircraft—a Boeing 757-200—was able to land safely at its intended destination in Denver, Colorado.
The aircraft, powered by 174 passengers and 7 crew members, managed to land without any reports of injuries. United Airlines has confirmed the recovery of the detached wheel in Los Angeles and stated that an investigation into the cause of the incident is under way.
This comes as the second time an incident such as this has happened to United Airlines this year alone. Back in March, a United Airlines Boeing 777-200 heading for Japan lost a tire not long after taking off from San Francisco. That flight, however, also landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport.
It means that the aircraft involved in Monday’s incident is nearly 30 years old, according to data from FlightRadar24. Interestingly, it was back in 2004 when Boeing stopped producing the line of 757 aircraft.
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This wheel loss is just the latest in a series of mishaps to hit the United Airlines aircraft in the past couple of months. In March, it included an emergency landing in Los Angeles because of hydraulic system problems, a plane rolling off the taxiway in Houston, and a flight having made an emergency landing in Houston after flames were spotted rising from one of its engines.
These incidents occurred in the shadow of a highly publicized event in January in which a plug from the door blew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 during flight, causing injuries and putting questions about the safety of aircrafts at the full glare of public discourse.
These incidents have thus had a great impact on United Airlines. In April, it reported a $200 million hit on its first-quarter earnings, partly associating this loss with the grounding of many of its Boeing planes following the Alaska Airlines incident.
Investigations and updates on safety measures and probable causes of these disturbing events will be keenly watched by the aviation industry and passengers.