A British Airways A350 lost its main landing gear wheels after departing Las Vegas en route to London Heathrow – the incident was captured on Flightradar24’s live stream
A British Airways aircraft lost its ‘main wheel’ just after take-off after departing from Las Vegas to London’s Heathrow. The incident which happened at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) on Monday (January 26) was captired on Flightradar24’s live stream.
Despite the mechanical failure, the flight continued on its trans-Atlantic journey to the UK. The two-year-old plane landed safely at Heathrow at 2..48pm on Tuesday.
The aircraft has been taken out of service for inspection and repairs, according to AirLive. They said rather than diverting to a nearby airport, the decision to continue is “often made in consultation with airline operations and engineering teams, provided the aircraft’s safety systems remain within acceptable margins”.
British Airways issued a statement as they probe the cause of the mid-air separation. “Safety and security underpins everything we do and we’re supporting the authorities with their investigations,” the airline said.
It is not the first time a wheel has come loose from a plane moments after take-off. Back in 2024, a United Airlines flight taking off from San Francisco International Airport lost a wheel which could be seen on video hurtling towards the ground as the plane flies off without it.
According to CNN pilots of an Allegiant flight bound for Tulsa, Oklahoma, saw the wayward wheel as it bounced across runways and taxiways at Los Angeles Airport. They radioed: “A tire came off that 75 that took off, we saw it rolling down past bravo seven, bravo eight.”
Other pilots said the tire crossed a parallel runway before a further aviator radioed to say that the wheel had finally stopped near the airport’s southwest corner, about three-quarters of a mile from where it was first seen rolling away. The aircraft involved was nearly 30-years-old, according to FlightRadar24 data, and was carrying 174 passengers and seven crew members. Boeing ended production of the 757 model in 2004.
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