United plane loses tire after takeoff from San Francisco International Airport
A tire fell off a United Airlines plane taking off from San Francisco International Airport Thursday morning and landed in a nearby parking lot, damaging several vehicles, officials said.
The tire from United Flight 35, which later arrived safely in Los Angeles, landed in an employee parking lot, SFO spokesman Doug Yakel said. No injuries were reported.
The runway was briefly closed to allow crews to clear debris, Yakel said. There was no further impact to airport operations.
Flight 35 was headed for Osaka, Japan, before being diverted to Los Angeles International Airport, where it landed safely.
The plane, a Boeing 777-200, has six tires on each of its two main landing gear struts, according to the airline. It is designed to land with missing or damaged tires.
The plane was carrying a total of 249 people – 235 customers, 10 flight attendants and 4 pilots, according to the airline.
United said customers boarded a new plane at LAX to Osaka.
"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," United said in a statement. "We will work with customers as well as with the owners of the damaged vehicles in SFO to ensure their needs are addressed."