The flight which was initially carrying 235 customers, 10 flight attendants and four pilots for a total 249 people on board was headed to Osaka International Airport.
A tire flew off a United Airlines Boeing plane shortly after taking off from San Francisco on Thursday, prompting an emergency landing in Los Angeles. Moments after United Airlines Flight 35 ascended into the air, one of the tires on the underside of the Boeing 777-200 detached. The flight — which was initially carrying 235 customers, 10 flight attendants and four pilots for a total 249 people on board — was headed to Osaka International Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
“United flight 35 lost one tire after takeoff from San Francisco. The flight will land at LAX. Once the flight lands in Los Angeles, we will arrange a new aircraft to continue this trip for our customers,” a United Airlines spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The plane landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport around 1:30 p.m. local time after the flight crew reported a landing gear issue, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
⚡ 🇺🇲 #UnitedAirlines Boeing 777 loses tire while taking off from crushing multiple cars on the ground
The plane had to make a forced emergency landing after losing one or two tires during takeoff from #SanFrancisco #California en route to #Osaka, #Japan. pic.twitter.com/em3PiOd3gm
— Jimmy (@backtime) March 7, 2024
United said “Our team quickly arranged for a new aircraft to take customers to Osaka this evening.” “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,” the spokesperson said.
“We’re grateful to our pilots and flight attendants for their professionalism in managing this situation,” United said in a statement. “We’re also grateful to our teams on the ground who were waiting with a tug to move the aircraft soon after it landed and to our teams in the airport who assisted customers upon their arrival.”
United said it will work with the owners of the damaged vehicles at the San Francisco International Airport “to ensure their needs are addressed.”
According to airport officials, the plane took off from SFO at 11:35 a.m. local time, and was diverted to Los Angeles about 25 minutes later.
The tire landed in an SFO employee parking lot and there were no injuries, SFO airport officials confirmed to Fox News Digital. However, multiple parked vehicles suffered damage as a result of the tire falling off the plane.
— Julian (@Aviationmech123) March 7, 2024
“United Flight 35 departing to Osaka lost a portion of landing gear tire during takeoff. The tire debris landed in an on-airport employee parking lot, causing damage to several vehicles,” airport officials said.
The runway was briefly closed to clear debris, but has since reopened with no further impact on airport operations, officials said.
It was the second malfunction in a week involving United Airlines, as a plane traveling from Honolulu to San Francisco encountered an engine failure over the Pacific Ocean.