July 9 (UPI) – United Airlines says it is investigating how the wheel of a Boeing 757-200 came loose during takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport on Monday before it came to a safe stop in Denver.
United Flight 1001, with 174 passengers and seven crew members on board, made an emergency landing at Denver International Airport without incident. The crew recovered the wheel that had come loose from the rear of the plane in Los Angeles.
Other pilots contacted air traffic control and reported that the plane’s wheel was rolling down the runway after the United flight took off.
It was the second time this year that a United Airlines flight had to deal with a loose tire. In March, a tire came off a United Boeing 777 during takeoff from San Francisco International Airport to LAX. Although the plane landed safely in Los Angeles, the tire damaged numerous vehicles in a parking lot in San Francisco.
“Unfortunately, our airline has experienced a number of incidents in recent weeks that remind us how important safety is,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said after the March incident, according to USA Today.
“Even though they are unrelated, I want you to know that these incidents have caught our attention and sharpened our focus.”
Kirby addressed other recent incidents at United, including a mid-flight engine fire, a damaged wing, stuck rudder pedals and a “safety issue” that forced an emergency landing.
