United Airlines flight loses wheel during take-off in Los Angeles

A United Airlines jet lost a landing-gear wheel during take off from Los Angeles, but was able to land safely in Denver, its planned destination, with no injuries, the airline said.

“The wheel has been recovered in Los Angeles, and we are investigating what caused this event,” United said in a statement on Monday. It was the second such incident for the airline this year.

The aircraft involved in Monday’s incident was a nearly 30-year-old Boeing 757-200, according to FlightRadar24 data, which was carrying 174 passengers and 7 crew members. Boeing ended production of the 757 in 2004.

In March, a United Airlines Boeing 777-200 jet headed for Japan lost a tire mid-air after takeoff from San Francisco, landing safely at Los Angeles International Airport.

The wheel landed on a car in an airport employee parking lot, breaking a car window, but no one was hurt.

Monday’s incident was the latest in a string of incidents involving United Airlines planes. One aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing at Los Angeles international airport in March due to an issue with its hydraulic system. Elsewhere that month, another flight was attempting to land in Houston when it rolled off the taxiway and into the grass.

Also in March, a flight carrying 167 passengers made an emergency landing in Houston, after bright flames burst out of the engine of the United flight 1118, a Boeing 737-900 en route from Houston to Fort Myers, Florida.

US flight issues were catapulted into the headline in January, after a door plug blew off an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 in mid-air, shortly after it took off from Portland Oregon, forcing it to make an emergency landing. Several people were injured.

In April, United Airlines blamed a $200m (£161m) hit to its earnings in the first three months of the year on the incident, saying the mid-flight blowout on rival Alaska airlines forced it to ground many of its Boeing planes, contributing to the losses.

With Maya Yang, Jack Simpson, Reuters and Associated Press