A United Airlines plane bound for Osaka, Japan, experienced a rare and potentially dangerous incident when a tire fell off during takeoff from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on Thursday morning. The tire debris landed in an airport employee parking lot, damaging several vehicles but causing no injuries, according to SFO spokesman Doug Yakel.
United Flight 35, a Boeing 777-200 carrying a total of 249 people, including 235 customers, 10 flight attendants, and 4 pilots, was diverted to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) following the incident. Video footage captured the moment the tire came off the rear landing gear seconds after the plane took off.
Aviation experts Mike McCarron and Doug Rice, both with decades of experience as airline pilots, emphasized the rarity of such an occurrence. "It's remarkable that this happened at all," McCarron said. "Fortunately no one was injured."
McCarron suggested that the focus of the investigation will likely be on United's maintenance procedures and paperwork, although if a structural problem is identified, Boeing may also become involved. Rice noted that while the Boeing 777 is designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires, there are still concerns about potential damage to other components until the plane lands.
The runway at SFO was briefly closed to allow crews to clear debris, but there was no further impact on airport operations. Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be inspecting the plane and the wheel to determine the cause of the incident.
United Airlines expressed gratitude for the professionalism of their pilots and flight attendants in managing the situation, as well as for the ground crews who were waiting with a tug to move the aircraft after it landed and the teams in the airport who assisted customers upon their arrival. The airline also pledged to work with customers and the owners of the damaged vehicles at SFO to ensure their needs are addressed.
Records show that the plane involved in the incident was delivered from Boeing to United 22 years ago. In a statement, United said, "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."
Aviation experts Alan Price, a former chief pilot for Delta Air Lines, and John Cox, a retired pilot and professor of aviation safety at the University of Southern California, both agreed that planes losing tires is a rare occurrence and not indicative of a larger safety issue. Price noted that the remaining tires are fully capable of handling the load, while Cox suggested that the incident was likely a maintenance issue rather than a problem created by the manufacturer.
Following the safe landing at LAX, United arranged for a new aircraft to take passengers to Osaka on Thursday evening. The FAA has stated that it will investigate the incident to determine the cause and any necessary actions to prevent similar occurrences in the future.
The incident serves as a reminder of the complex systems and maintenance procedures involved in ensuring the safety of air travel. While the loss of a tire during takeoff is a rare event, the swift response by United Airlines and the professionalism of their crew and ground staff helped to minimize the potential dangers and inconvenience to passengers.
As the investigation into the cause of the tire loss continues, the aviation industry will undoubtedly be watching closely to identify any lessons that can be learned to further enhance safety measures and maintenance practices. For now, passengers can take comfort in the fact that modern aircraft are designed with redundant systems and fail-safes to handle such situations, and that the quick thinking and expertise of aviation professionals helped to ensure a safe outcome in this remarkable incident.
