United Airlines Boeing 757 Loses Tire During Takeoff From LAX (2024)

A United Airlines Boeing 757 en route from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Denver International Airport (DEN) lost a tire following takeoff. This is not the first time something like this has happened with a United plane, with the airline also placed under the FAA’s watch earlier this year due to a string of incidents.

United Boeing 757 loses a tire

On July 8, a United Airlines Boeing 757 aircraft flying from Los Angeles to Denver lost a tire after takeoff. The plane was performing flight UA1001, a scheduled service between LAX and DEN with a departure time of 07:00 and an arrival of 10:28.

On Monday, the aircraft took off just after 07:15 and lost a tire upon departure. The Boeing 757-200, however, did not return to LAX but went ahead with its flight to Denver, where it landed safely at 10:10 after a flight of one hour and 55 minutes. Thankfully, no injuries to the passengers onboard or anyone on the ground were reported.

While a proper investigation will reveal the cause of the incident, United Airlines has released a statement that said,

The aircraft involved in the incident is an almost 30-year-old Boeing 757-200 with the registration N14107. Ordered by Continental in 1990, it was delivered in October 1994. Over the years, it has accumulated more than 110,000 flight hours across 26,004 flight cycles as of April 2024, per ch-aviation.

Photo:Dino Ramic IShutterstock

Other incidents

This is not the first time this year that a United plane has lost a tire upon takeoff. In March, a United Boeing 777 lost a tire after departing from San Francisco. The aircraft was performing a flight to Osaka in Japan, but the pilots decided to divert it to Los Angeles after burning fuel for two hours.

Photo:Kent Raney | Shutterstock

The same month, a United Boeing 737 MAX was involved in a runway incident at Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport, where it rolled into the grass after landing. Before that, another United 737 MAX experienced a stuck rudder pedal upon landing at its base at Newark Liberty International Airport after performing a flight from Nassau, Bahamas.

After landing, the pilots noted that the rudder pedals were not responding to the application of foot pressure to keep the plane aligned with the runway centerline. Thankfully, no injuries were reported.

Under regulatory observation

With several incidents in quick succession, United was put under the scrutiny of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The agency closely examined the carrier's operational procedures, manuals, and facilities to ensure that it was following the recommended guidelines for safe operations.

At the time, United's Vice President for Corporate Safety, Sasha Johnson, said that the incidents caused the airline “to pause and evaluate whether there is anything we can and should do differently.” Hopefully, United and the FAA will identify the issue that caused the latest incident and work towards a solution to prevent something like this from happening again.