Tire Falls Off United Plane Over Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES , CA — A Boeing jet lost its tire over Los Angeles sometime during takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport Monday morning, but it still manged to land safely in Denver.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced an investigation into the incident involving United Airlines Flight 1001, which departed Los Angeles International Airport at about 7 a.m. Monday with 174 passengers and seven crew members.

That's when the crew "reported that the plane lost a tire during takeoff."

"The Boeing 757-200 continued to Denver International Airport where it landed safely around 10:10 a.m.," according to the FAA, which said the agency is investigating the event.

United officials said the airline is also investigating.

"United Flight 1001 landed safely in Denver after losing one wheel on takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport, United announced. "The wheel has been recovered in Los Angeles, and we are investigating what caused this event."

There are no immediate reports of damage or injuries inflicted by the falling wheel.

The news was reminiscent of a March incident in which a United flight lost a tire while taking off from San Francisco, prompting it to make an emergency landing at LAX. In that case, video captured the tire falling from the Boeing 777-200 plane shortly after takeoff. The falling tire damaged some parked cars near the airport. The flight was en route to Japan but diverted to LAX for the emergency landing.

The FAA initiated a safety review of the airline following the San Francisco incident along with other alarming incidents, including a plane running off a runway in Houston and loose piece of fuselage.

City News Service and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report