Delta Boeing 757 Loses Nose Wheel Before Take-Off
(RTTNews) - A Boeing 757 airplane operated by Delta Airlines (DAL) lost its front nose wheel before taking off to Bogota, Colombia, the Federal Aviation Administration said.
The incident took place at around 11:15 a.m. Saturday at Georgia's Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, when the Delta Flight 982 was preparing for departure.
In an audio clip included in the FAA's report, a controller can be heard alerting the pilot by saying, "One of your nose tires just came off; it just rolled off the runway behind you."
The report also mentions that the tire landed on the south side of the runway.
According to the Atlanta-based airline, the 32-year-old plane carried 172 passengers, two pilots and four flight attendants. However, no one was injured.
"All customers and their bags were removed from the aircraft, transferred to the gate and onto a replacement aircraft," Delta said. "We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience."
Boeing had stopped the production of the 757 model planes nearly 20 years ago.
With this latest incident, the aircraft maker's security and quality-related problems are under severe scrutiny by the FAA, investors and customers.
Earlier this month, a door plug of a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines blew off 16,000 feet above Oregon, leaving a hole on the side of the plane. Following this, Alaska Airlines and United Airlines found many similar defects in the panel doors of Max 9 planes.
Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun met with the attorneys in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday to discuss about these recent unfortunate events.
