United Airlines Flight 1001 lost one of its main landing gear tires upon takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport on Monday (Picture: Getty Images)
A Boeing plane operated by United Airlines lost a wheel mere seconds after takeoff in the second such incident within a few months.
Flight 1001 was departing Los Angeles International Airport around 7am on Monday when one of its main landing gear tires dropped, according to United Airlines.
The Boeing 757-200 continued the trip to its destination in Denver and landed safely three hours later.
None of the 179 passengers or seven crew members aboard were hurt.
‘The wheel has been recovered in Los Angeles, and we are investigating what caused this event,’ United Airlines told ABC News.
What caused the wheel to detach mid-flight was not immediately known.
The incident is under investigation by the Federal Aviation Administration.
It follows a strikingly similar incident in March in which a tire fell from United Airlines Flight 35 as it took off from San Francisco International Airport. The plane was diverted to LAX and landed safely.
Tire debris from Flight 35 was found in an airport employee car park and had damaged several vehicles.
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