United plane loses tire during takeoff from San Francisco airport

SAN FRANCISCO — A United Airlines flight bound for Japan landed safely at LAX on Thursday after losing a tire during takeoff from San Francisco International Airport.

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Video of the flight’s takeoff shows a tire from the Boeing 777′s landing gear falling through the sky seconds after the jet left the ground. According to The Associated Press, the tire landed in an employee parking lot at the airport, damaging multiple cars.

An airport spokesman said no one was injured in the incident, the AP reported.

First responders, including firefighters, awaited the plane as it was diverted to Los Angeles, but the aircraft landed without issue. Passengers were put on another plane for their flight to Japan.

There were 235 passengers and 14 crew members aboard the plane at the time of the incident, according to the AP.

Watch the footage below.

San Francisco’s NBC affiliate reported that the runway the plane had taken off from was closed briefly so any debris could be cleared. Airport operations were not impacted.

United officials told the news station that the Boeing 777, which has six tires on each of its main landing gear struts, is designed to still land safely with missing or damaged tires.

Losing a tire is still a rare occurrence, aviation expert Mike McCarron told NBC Bay Area.

“It’s remarkable that this happened at all,” McCarron said.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the cause of the tire loss.

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