Summary

  • An employee at San Francisco International Airport lost her car in March to a United Airlines Boeing 777 tire crushing it.
  • Fortunately, no one was physically harmed in the incident.
  • The worker has been reimbursed by insurance, but seeks further compensation from United.

A San Francisco International Airport (SFO) employee is speaking out more than four months after a United Airlines incident garnered worldwide attention. The worker is still without a car to drive after it was totaled by a tire that belonged to a Boeing 777-200ER.

The incident was part of a string of safety-related mishaps that subsequently prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to increase oversight of the carrier’s practices. Despite the supervision, United, once again, was put under the spotlight earlier this week after a flight departing from Los Angeles lost a tire.

“Completely totaled and crushed”

On March 7th, UA35 was bound for Osaka, Japan from SFO. However, it quickly changed course and headed for Southern California after the 22-year-old 777-200ER operating the flight lost a tire from one of its main landing gear struts during takeoff. That tire landed in an employee parking lot, hitting Lauren Inthavong’s car.

The 23-year-old, who spoke to ABC 7 Bay Area, recalled feeling shocked when she discovered her car had been destroyed.

“I was in shock, because the worst thing that I thought could happen was my car getting broken into. I didn’t think a scenario like that would even happen there.”

Thankfully, no one was hurt, but the tire did not just damage Inthavong’s car. Gary Glass, a witness, saw the tire bouncing across the parking lot, according to ABC 7 Bay Area.

“I look up, and it’s a tire spinning at a rapid speed… and it bounced in the staff parking lot. It bounced onto a car, a small white compact car, and I thought that it was gonna crush that car and stay there, but it actually bounced again, really high… tire still spinning, and then it landed on a red Tesla, and it completely totaled and crushed the red Tesla.”

A 30-mile commute

According to Inthavong’s LinkedIn profile, she works for Alaska Airlines as a concierge and reportedly commutes just over 30 miles from Concord, California. It is unclear if the Tesla belonged to her, but nonetheless, her car was totaled.

“I still don’t have a car,” she explained.

Red Tesla totaled after United Airlines Boeing 777-200ER tire incident.

Photo: ABC 7 Bay Area

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Inthavong has since made ends meet by either borrowing a car or using the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. At the time of the incident, United reportedly said it would address the needs of the owners of the damaged vehicles, but Inthavong said she was not aware of how to properly contact the airline to report her car.

“I just didn’t really know how to,” she said. “This was all really new to me.”

“Some compensation for ruining my car”

Simple Flying reached out to United for comment on Friday, but did not receive an immediate response. However, a spokesperson released a statement explaining that Inthavong never contacted the airline.

“Safety is our highest priority,” they said. “We worked with everyone who reported damage to their vehicle, but we have not been contacted by the owner of this specific vehicle.”

Inthavong said she will file a claim with United’s Customer Car Team. She has reportedly been reimbursed for the value of her car, tracked by Kelley Blue Book. However, she hopes United will pitch in as well.

“I just wanted, you know, like some compensation for ruining my car.”

It is worth noting that Simple Flying also contacted Inthavong for an interview, but she could not be immediately reached.

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  • GettyImages-1175364447

    San Francisco International Airport

    IATA/ICAO Code:
    SFO/KSFO

    Country:
    United States

    CEO:
    Ivar C. Satero

    Passenger Count :
    16,427,801 (2020)

    Runways :
    10L/28R – 3,618m (11,870ft) |
    10R/28L – 3,469m (11,381ft) |
    1R/19L – 2,637m (8,650ft) |
    1L/19R – 2,332m (7,650ft)

    Terminals:
    Harvey Milk Terminal 1 |
    Terminal 2 |
    Terminal 3 |
    International Terminal

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