Moment Wheel Falls off United Airlines Boeing Jet Seconds After Takeoff — Again

A United Airlines Boeing 757-200 flight from Los Angeles to Denver lost one of its wheels during take off—mirroring a similar incident with the aircraft manufacturer mere months earlier.

Knewz.com has learned that in March, the same technical failure beset an aircraft taking off from San Francisco causing severe damage to vehicles in an airport parking lot.

The most recent instance involving the already embattled commercial aircraft brand, Boeing, occurred on Monday, July 8, around 07h15 local time.

The operator, United Airlines (Flight 1001) continued to its destination and is said to have landed at Denver International Airport without incident or injury to its 147 passengers and seven crew.

The airline has since released a statement indicating that an investigation is underway to determine why the wheel fell off.

A report quoted one of the passengers, Allen Stubblefield, who was onboard during the incident.

He noted that the pilot declared an emergency landing as the flight neared Denver.

“(I've) been through many safety procedures and you get to the point where you're half-listening or barely listening,” Stubblefield said.

He noted that none of the passengers panicked and recalled that as the aircraft made its final approach, one of the cabin crew called “brace, brace, brace” through the PA system.

“It was not the smoothest landing and I didn't expect that. There was a bump, but that was it,” Stubblefield said.

Back in the cockpit, the pilots were made aware of their missing wheel almost as soon as it came off the plane.

Air traffic control informed them, saying: “Tower, United 1001, we were told a tire came off your aircraft.”

The control tower, in turn, became aware of the incident after other pilots at the facility spotted it separating from the jet.

Quoted communication records reflected one of the messages alerting traffic control:

“A tire came off that B757 that took off.”

“We saw it rolling down past B7-B8.”

Notably, the same thing happened to a United Airlines flight in March 2024 after a Boeing 777 took off from San Francisco Airport.

The wheel allegedly fell into a parking area near the airport causing severe damage to vehicles.

Consequently, the plane destined for Osaka, Japan was rerouted to Los Angeles where it executed a safe landing.

United Airlines is currently under investigation by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and has communicated that it welcomes the oversight.

Be this as it may, the airline’s shares have since taken a dip, per Smart Karma , and the probe by the aviation agency is expected to impede its upcoming projects.

Boeing, the company that built said planes, is already the center of attention after two 737 Max passenger jets crashed in 2018 killing almost 400 people in total. More recently, on January 5, a doorplug flew off an Alaska Airlines jet in mid-air.

Despite the ensuing legal battle, the company that builds American military aircraft and missiles has expanded its portfolio to space travel.

The latter manifested in a June 5 launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida , in what was supposed to be an eight-day journey.

The shuttle named Starliner, is reported to have sprung helium leaks and faulty rocket engines forcing its crew of two to stay at the international space station for almost a month longer than they planned.

Boeing has since agreed to plead guilty to defrauding the United States in the case of the two overseas 737 Max jet crashes and has been fined $487 million.