FAA investigating after Delta Boeing plane loses front nose wheel before takeoff
The FAA said Tuesday it will investigate after a tire under the front nose of a Delta Boeing 757 fell off one of the wheels and rolled down a nearby embankment.
The incident occurred on Saturday around 11:15 a.m. local time at Georgia's Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport while Delta Flight 982 was taxiing before takeoff to Bogota, Colombia.
In air traffic control audio included in a report from the FAA, a controller is heard alerting the pilot of the situation, saying, "One of your nose tires just came off; it just rolled off the runway behind you."
The report also says that the tire landed on the south side of the runway, down an embankment.
Following the incident, passengers and their luggage were returned to the terminal via buses and their departure was delayed. The passengers were put on another aircraft to their destination, according to the FAA report.
No injuries were reported in the incident, the FAA said.
In a statement Tuesday, Delta offered an apology "to our customers for the inconvenience."
The news of this Boeing incident comes weeks after a mid-cabin door plug fell off during the ascent of an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 and days after the FAA recommended flight operators check another model of Boeing airplanes.
On Jan. 5, the door plug fell out of the Alaska Airlines plane after it took off for Ontario, California, from Portland. Six crew members and 171 passengers were on board Flight 1282, the airline previously said.
The cabin became depressurized shortly after takeoff, and the pilots asked for an emergency landing, according to the transcript of an air traffic control call from LiveATC.net.
The door was found several days later. The NTSB is investigating the incident.
