A wheel reportedly fell off a United Airlines Boeing 757-200 moments after takeoff on Monday, July 8. An alarming video shared by RadarBox shows the moment the tire came loose from the plane’s undercarriage and fell to the ground a few seconds after the aircraft took off.
United later confirmed that a wheel came loose at 7 am as Flight 1001 departed Los Angeles International Airport to fly to Denver. Thankfully, the jet safely landed in Denver about three hours later. None of the crew members or passengers were injured.
A United spokesperson said the wheel was later found in Los Angeles. The cause of the incident is being investigated. It is unclear if it caused any damage on the ground.
In a very similar incident in March, an Osaka, Japan-bound Boeing 777-200 lost a wheel after taking off from San Francisco. The jet had to be diverted to LAX, and it landed safely there. The tire that came loose damaged some vehicles in the parking lot of the airport.
Boeing agrees to plead guilty to criminal fraud charge
Years of investigations, lawsuits and whistleblower testimony have left Boeing’s reputation in tatters. The company has now agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge related to two crashes of 737 Max jetliners. This comes after the government stated that the company violated an agreement that had been protecting it from prosecution for over three years, according to the Justice Department.
“We can confirm that we have reached an agreement in principle on terms of a resolution with the Justice Department, subject to the memorialization and approval of specific terms,” Boeing said in a statement to ABC News.
The agreement states that the company will be required to pay the maximum statutory fine, and will have to invest at least $455 million in its compliance and safety programs. However, to take effect, the deal will need the approval of a federal judge.