The nose wheel of a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 passenger jet fell off and rolled away as the aircraft waited on the runway for takeoff clearance at Atlanta’s major airport on Saturday.
In what is only the latest instance of bad press for Boeing, the wheel “came off and rolled down the hill” at Georgia’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport shortly after 11:15 a.m. local time. A preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Monday said none of the 184 passengers or six crew members were injured.
The passengers onboard Delta Flight 982 to the Colombian capital of Bogotá were removed from the compromised plane. The passengers and their baggage were returned to airport’s terminal via buses, and later boarded a new plane for a delayed departure, according to the New York Times.
In a statement, Boeing apologized “to our customers for the inconvenience.”
The airline said the plane was put back into service the next day following repairs. The FAA released air traffic control audio from the incident, which sees another pilot in a nearby plane alerting Delta Flight 982 and an air traffic controller about the lost wheel.
“Hey … the 75 on the runway just lost a nose tire,” the pilot informed, later adding that he saw the wheel roll off the runway and down a nearby embankment.
The pilot of Delta Flight 982 thanked the other pilot and quipped that it “sounds like we’ve got a problem.”
Delta Flight 982, which was taxiing down the runway, stopped to wait for a maintenance crew.
“This is a new one,” the Delta pilot said as he apologized for the delay to air traffic control and the other planes waiting near the runway.
The missing nose tire was located, and the Delta Flight 982 was later towed away.
An aviation enthusiast from Atlanta captured footage of the passenger jet as it sat wayward in front of the runway.
The FAA is currently investigating the incident.
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Most commercial aircraft have two nose wheels. Nose wheels improve visibility for pilots during taxiing, takeoff and landing, especially during crosswinds. Since only one of the two nose wheels on the Delta plane came off, the aircraft did not collapse forward.
It’s been a bumpy few months for Boeing, one of the largest global aerospace manufactures, as it’s faced bizarre technical malfunctions, the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 planes in the U.S., and growing airline customer concerns about the safety of Boeing planes.
On Jan. 5, an Alaskan Airlines Boeing Max 9 aircraft lost a door plug covering an unused exit while about 16,000 feet (over 4,876 metres) in the air above Oregon. The cabin became depressurized, and the plane made an emergency landing. No one was injured.
In the days after, United Airlines said it found loose bolts and other “installation issues” in the door plugs of their Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft. The issues were identified during inspections ordered in response to the Alaska Airlines incident.
Last week, a Boeing 747 cargo jet made an emergency landing in Miami after its engine caught fire midair.
Boeing’s CEO will meet with U.S. senators this week to answer questions about the 737 Max 9 grounding.
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