Another Boeing jet from United Airlines loses its landing gear during takeoff

Another Boeing jet operated by United Airlines lost its main landing gear during takeoff on Monday, a similar incident to a flight in March that triggered a federal safety review.

There were no reports of injuries among people on the ground or among the 174 passengers and seven crew members of United Flight 1001, Bloomberg quoted an airline spokesman as saying.

The Boeing 757-200 took off from Los Angeles at 7:16 a.m. local time and landed at Denver International Airport at 10:10 a.m.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it is investigating the incident.

United said the bike was found in Los Angeles.

The aircraft’s two main landing gears each have four wheels.

In March, another United plane lost a wheel shortly after takeoff from San Francisco on a flight to Osaka, Japan.

The Boeing 777-200, with 249 people on board, was diverted to Los Angeles International Airport, where it landed safely. No one was injured, but videos on X by RadarBox captured the moment the wheel fell off, damaging vehicles in a parking lot.

The FAA had launched a comprehensive safety review of the airline after a series of high-profile incidents over the course of several weeks, including the loss of a wheel, an aircraft skidding off a runway in Houston and a fuselage section becoming detached during flight.

Last month, a United plane returned to a Connecticut airport after a piece of aircraft fell out of an engine cover. On Sunday, a United plane bound for Guam returned to Nagoya International Airport in Japan after a system malfunction was detected. Kyodo News reported.

There were no injuries among the 44 passengers and six crew members.

United also said it is investigating the latest incident.

Boeing’s problems are increasing

Boeing has run into trouble in recent quarters due to several incidents involving its aircraft. Earlier this year, a door stopper on an Alaska Airlines 737 Max plane came loose in flight, prompting the FAA to temporarily ground about 170 of the 737-9 Max planes.

Earlier this week, the US aircraft manufacturer announced it would pay a fine of $243.6 million to resolve the US Department of Justice’s investigation into two fatal crashes involving a 737 Max.

The company has also agreed to invest $455 million over the next three years to improve its compliance and safety programs and must hire an independent auditor to oversee the improvements, according to a court filing Sunday.

According to Reuters, the FAA also ordered inspections of 2,600 Boeing 737 aircraft on Monday because passengers’ oxygen masks could fail in an emergency due to a tether.

The FAA said it is ordering inspections of the 737 Max and Next Generation aircraft after several reports that the passenger service unit oxygen generators could slip out of position. This problem could lead to the inability to provide supplemental oxygen to passengers in the event of a depressurization.

Boeing said on Monday that airlines had been instructed to replace some of the straps that hold the oxygen generators on Boeing 737s. A new adhesive on the straps introduced in August 2019 caused the units to shift by up to one centimeter under certain circumstances.

“We have reverted to the original adhesive on all new deliveries to ensure the generators remain firmly in place as intended,” Reuters quoted Boeing as saying.

Updated: July 9, 2024, 06:21