Osaka-Bound United Airlines Aircraft Loses Tire Shortly After Takeoff From San Francisco, Diverts to Los Angeles

A United Airlines Boeing 777-200ER suddenly lost one of its tires while taking off from San Francisco. The flight was bound for Osaka, Japan, but was diverted to Los Angeles.

"Look Out Below"

United Airlines Flight UA35 is a daily service between the airline's San Francisco, California (SFO) hub and Osaka Kansai International Airport (KIX) in Japan. The flight was previously operated by the Boeing 787-8 but has recently been switched to a 777-200ER. On March 7, UA35 took off on time from San Francisco's Runway 28R. N226UA, a 22-year-old Boeing 777-200ER, operated the flight. 

United's internationally configured 777-200ERs have a capacity of 276 passengers. On this occasion, the aircraft was carrying 235 passengers, along with 10 flight attendants and four pilots.

Footage taken by YouTuber user "Cali Planes" shows the 777 barreling down the runway. Then, shortly after the aircraft gets airborne, one of the tires can be seen falling off the left main landing gear bogie. According to officials, the tire landed in a nearby parking lot and damaged several parked vehicles. No injuries were reported.

Following the tire falling off the plane, the runway was closed so that airport operations teams could check for debris. Aside from this, there was no overall impact on airport operations. As a precautionary measure, UA35 was diverted to Los Angeles (LAX) instead of continuing the flight to Osaka. It should be noted that the Boeing 777 is designed to land safely even if a tire is missing.

Flightradar24 playback data shows the 777 continued on its initial flight path to Osaka before making a 180, dumping fuel, and then coming in to land safely on LAX's Runway 25L.

When asked about the incident, United Airlines made the following remarks:

"We're grateful to our pilots and flight attendants for their professionalism in managing this situation. We're also grateful to our teams on the ground who were waiting with a tug to move the aircraft soon after it landed and to our teams in the airport who assisted customers upon their arrival. We will work with customers as well as with the owners of the damaged vehicles in SFO to ensure their needs are addressed."

United has dispatched a replacement aircraft to take the passengers from LAX to Osaka. As of March 7, UA35 has yet to leave Los Angeles. The replacement aircraft will be N782UA, a 27-year-old 777-200ER, and will be ferried to LAX from San Francisco. When UA35 lands in Osaka, it will run just over eight hours late. The return flight, UA34, is expected to depart Osaka with a seven-hour delay.

This incident has served as an inconvenience to the occupants onboard UA35. It can be argued, however, that this sudden incident can be attributed to United Airlines. As such, the passengers onboard the flight will be entitled to compensation, whether that be meal vouchers, extra MileagePlus miles, or some sort of credit.

Airlines usually offer such provisions when they are at fault. These situations, particularly those that see passengers receiving extra credits or miles, do not include those involving severe weather, as those would be out of the airline's control.