United Airlines under new scrutiny after recent wheel loss | News

United Airlines is facing renewed scrutiny of its safety performance after a Boeing 757-200 lost a main landing gear wheel during takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport – the latest in a series of incidents that have brought the airline negative attention, not least from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The aircraft (N14107) was operating as flight UA1001 on July 8 with 174 passengers and seven crew members on board. It later landed safely in Denver. According to Cirium Fleets, the aircraft is almost 30 years old.

The Chicago-based airline did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The incident is similar to one on March 7, when a tire fell off a United 777-200 as it departed San Francisco International Airport for Japan. The tire landed in an employee parking lot and crushed several cars, but there were no injuries. The plane was diverted to Los Angeles, where it landed safely.

In the same month, another 777 en route from Sydney to San Francisco had to make an emergency landing after a hydraulic leak occurred during the flight.

These were just three of several recent incidents that led to the FAA increasing safety oversight of the airline. Other incidents included a 737 Max 8 that left the runway in Houston and a 737-800 that landed in Medford, Oregon with an exterior panel missing, to name just a few examples.

No injuries have been reported as a result of the apparently unrelated accidents, while tens of thousands of U.S. flights continue to operate safely every day. But regulators, lawmakers and passengers are on high alert after a door stopper on one of the airline’s 737 Max 9s burst on Jan. 5. Alaska Airlinesevery incident was followed with great attention.

The FAA had temporarily suspended United’s certification activities, preventing the addition of new aircraft and routes.

In May, the Chicago-based airline announced it had received approval from the FAA to work on resuming those activities, praising progress in improving safety across its vast domestic and international networks. However, the regulator said at the time that it had “not approved any expansion of United Airlines’ routes or fleets.”