A United Airlines flight traveling from San Francisco to Osaka was diverted to Los Angeles on Thursday after experiencing a tire malfunction during takeoff. The Boeing 777-200 aircraft had 249 people on board, including 235 passengers, 10 flight attendants, and four pilots. According to a United Airlines spokesperson, one tire was lost during takeoff, but the plane was still able to land safely at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). However, the tire debris caused damage to several vehicles in an SFO employee parking lot.
The flight, United 35, departed from San Francisco International Airport (SFO) at 11:35 a.m. local time and was diverted to Los Angeles just 25 minutes later. The tire was found in an employee parking lot, and luckily, there were no injuries reported. The aircraft is designed to operate with only five tires, so the missing tire did not affect the safe landing of the plane.
Although the runway was temporarily closed to clear debris, it has since reopened with no impact on airport operations. Despite the inconvenience for passengers, United Airlines ensured that they would arrange a new aircraft to continue their trip to Osaka. The airline also confirmed that the flight crew followed all safety protocols and procedures during the incident.
This is the second mishap involving United Airlines in the span of a week. On Monday, a United flight traveling from Honolulu to San Francisco experienced an engine failure over the Pacific Ocean. The Boeing 757-300 declared an emergency and landed safely at SFO, just under an hour after the incident. However, this was unrelated to the tire issue on Flight United 35.
🚨#BREAKING: United Airlines Boeing 777 loses tire while taking off from crushing multiple cars on the ground⁰⁰📌#SanFrancisco | #California ⁰
A United Flight 35, operated by a 2002 Boeing 777-222(ER) plane (N226UA), had to make a forced emergency landing after losing one or… pic.twitter.com/ip5A8XYsJ7— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) March 7, 2024
In response to the incident, a United Airlines spokesperson stated “The safety of our passengers and crew is always our top priority, and we are grateful that the flight landed safely and there were no injuries reported.” They also assured that they will be conducting a thorough review of the tire malfunction to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
Airport officials at SFO confirmed that the tire debris landed in an employee parking lot, causing damage to several vehicles. The runway closure for debris removal did cause minor delays for other flights, but operations have since resumed as normal. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has been notified and will be conducting an investigation into the incident.
Passengers on the diverted flight were understandably shaken, but grateful for the safe landing. One passenger, Samantha Miller, shared her experience on Twitter, stating, “Scariest moment of my life. Thank you to the crew for handling it so well and getting us safely to LA.”
United Airlines has faced several incidents in recent months, including a passenger being forcibly removed from a plane and a dog dying on a flight after being placed in an overhead bin. However, the airline maintains that safety is their top priority and they are committed to continuously improving their protocols and procedures.
