No, it’s not deja vu. Despite increased federal oversight, another tire fell off another United Airlines aircraft, this time a 757-200 at Los Angeles International Airport.
United Airlines 757-200 Loses A Wheel At LAX During Rotation
On Monday, July 8, 2024, UA1001 took off from Los Angeles (LAX) bound for Denver (DEN). The flight was operated by a Boeing 757-200 aircraft that is 30 years old (N14107).
At 7:16 am, the aircraft took off from runway 25R. During rotation (pulling back the yoke to lift the nose wheel off the ground during takeoff), the wheel fell off (this was reported by another pilot). You can listen to ATC below.
The wheel fell at such a velocity that it damaged a parked car quite a distance from the takeoff point.
The flight continued to Denver, declared an emergency landing, safely landed, and was towed to the gate.
Does all of this sound familiar? It should because the same thing happened on another United Airlines flight: a nearly identical incident with a 777 in San Francisco (SFO)
> Read More: Wheel Falls Off United Airlines 777-200 During SFO Takeoff, Smashes Cars
Local news has covered the incident and also interviewed United travelers at LAX and I have to say I quite agree with “Weird Al” who said that people should be held accountable for this and if he made a mistake like this at his job, he would be fired.
He’s right. This isn’t the first time and this is simply unacceptable: we don’t see this happening with any frequency at other carriers and while the passengers on this particular 757-200 or on any United Airlines flight may not be in danger, it is a bad look when wheels are falling off. It suggests other corners are being cut and safety is the sine qua non of any successful carrier.
Asked about the incident, United offered only a brief statement:
“The wheel has been recovered in Los Angeles, and we are investigating what caused this event.”
And I love the faith of the older lady in the news clip above (“God is in control when you’re up there, so I’m going to trust Him even on this flight”)…though it somewhat reminds me of the story about the man who was drowning and crying out to God for help. All of a sudden a helicopter shows up to rescue him, but he waves the helicopter away, shouting, “No, I’m waiting for God to save me!”
Here’s a simulation of what happened:
CONCLUSION
It was only recently that the US Federal Aviation Administraiton determined it no longer needed to exercise strict oversight on United. Could that oversight now return to United Airlines after the latest 757-200 wheel incident? And what caused the wheel to fall off in the first place? Right now, there are more questions than answers.
Honestly, United needs to get their act together. These common maintenance issues have been happening far too frequently.
The good news is more wheels did not fall off … only one .
We couldn’t condition the bailouts on not flying planes older than 30 years?
Don’t get me started on how the bailouts were handled…
🙁
Even if the plane was 100 years old, wheels do not fall off because of the age of the plane. It is purely human incompetence and lack of maintenance standards from United.
@Santastico … What about the old “Yugo” or “Trabant” autos ?
Hey Matt, do you have any data on UA 757 delays? I am DEN based and seek out this plane to lax, Chicago or ewr for the lie flat seat but every flight i feel has been delayed so im rethinking thwt strategy. Curious if you have any data points on the reliability of the plane. I love the 757 but it seems like they are getting closer to end if life…
My Delta 757-200 was delayed 18 hours when one of engines would not start! Oh what a pain…
I’ve had decent luck with my United 757-200s (twice from ORD-LAX this year) and my 752 from EWR-LAX was also on time last year.
I certainly prefer the aircraft to a 757-300 or 737, but I do feel this and the 767-300 are most prone to break…
This story seems like a setup for Bob Dylan’s When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky.
Ual should ground the 757 fleet. 737 fleet, and 767 fleet. Keep the 777, 787 and airbus fleet. For contract and economic reasons Ual would be better served with a smaller fleet. Too many problems as you can see with a too diversified aircraft fleet.
Matt- why the dislike for the 757-300?
This points to poor maintenance on the part of UA, rather anything to do with manufacturing and Boeing.