Tyre falls off United plane after takeoff from SFO

UNITED BOEING 777-222ER N739UA (MSN 26946)

A United Airlines Boeing 777 travelling from San Francisco, USA (SFO/KSFO) to Osaka, Japan (KIX/RJBB) had to divert to Los Angeles, USA (LAX/KLAX) due to a right rear wheel falling off the aircraft immediately after take-off.

The tyre from the Japan-bound United flight 35, ended up landing in an airport employee parking lot, SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said. No injuries were reported but two cars were damaged.

UA35 departed SFO's runway 28R at 11.22 a.m. (local time) and climbed to flight level 320 before turning back towards San Francisco 27 minutes later, at 11.49 a.m.  The 777 then descended to flt lvl 300 at 11.53 a.m. and started making its way to Los Angeles. The flight touched down safely on 25L at 1.17 p.m.

The original flight was on a Boeing 777-222 (N226UA)

The replacement aircraft was also a Boeing 777-222 (N782UA)

The flight finally departed Los Angeles from 25R at 8.16 p.m. giving the passengers an on the ground time of roughly 8 hours. 

Aircraft Information:

Airline: United Airlines

Code: UA/UAL

Aircraft: Boeing 777-222

Registration: N226UA

Serial Number: 30226

Engine: 2 x PW PW4090

First Flew: 20th December 2001

Age: 22. 2 Years