The airline industry just can’t seem to catch a break this year. The latest mishap took place in California on a flight from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Denver International Airport. Not long after takeoff from LAX, a United Airlines plane dropped a wheel from its landing gear, which was later recovered from the ground in Los Angeles. The aircraft later made a safe landing in Denver.
The plane that dropped its load was an almost thirty year-old Boeing 757-200. It was carrying 7 crew members and 174 passengers at the time of the incident. The 757 hasn’t been produced since 2004.
Shockingly, this was the second time that a United plane has dropped a wheel this year.
Back in March, United Airlines was operating a Boeing 777-200 on a route between San Francisco and Japan. Shortly after takeoff from SFO, the plane dropped a wheel as it flew over the airport’s employee parking lot. A car lost its windshield upon impact, but thankfully no humans were injured in the gravity-assisted event.
The July 8 incident is the latest suffered by airplanes operated by United Airlines. One such mishap in March of 2024 resulted in an emergency landing at LAX when its hydraulic system malfunctioned. That same month a flight landing at Houston wound up in the verge when it rolled off the runway while taxiing. That same month, Houston saw another United incident when the recently-departed Flight 1118, outbound for Florida, had an engine burst into flames. That plane was also a Boeing aircraft—a 737-900.
The US airline industry has suffered a lot of negative press beginning in January of 2024 when a door plug blew out of a Boeing 737 MAX 9 operated by Alaska Airlines shortly after departing from Portland International Airport. Several passengers were injured in the event.
As a result of all the negative press, the airline industry has suffered sharp losses, with United Alone reporting a $200 million earnings drop in Q1 of 2024.
