A United Airlines plane that departed San Francisco International Airport Thursday morning lost one of its tires shortly after takeoff but landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport.
The falling tire damaged several vehicles in an employee parking lot at San Francisco International Airport, but no one on the ground was injured. In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration said it will investigate the cause of the crash.
The incident occurred at approximately 11:35 a.m. as United Flight 35 was en route to Osaka, Japan, according to SFO airport spokesman Doug Yakel. He confirmed that there were no injuries, but that the runway was briefly closed to clear fallen debris and has since reopened for normal operation.
According to LAX representative Dae Levine, the flight successfully landed in Los Angeles at 1:23 pm without “any problems.” “Operationally, this had no impact,” Levine said. “They were able to stop all the way to the door.”
The plane that failed was a Boeing 777 that is designed to descend safely with missing or damaged landing gear, United Airlines said in a statement. The plane was carrying 235 passengers, 10 flight attendants and four pilots, but the airline reported no injuries.
“We are arranging a new aircraft to continue this journey for our customers,” United said.
US regulators are currently investigating Boeing's quality controls after a door plug on a 737 Max plane exploded mid-flight earlier this year.
Grounding of other United aircraft in response to this event has not yet been reported.
