Boeing 757 Loses Nose Wheel While Awaiting Takeoff in Atlanta

A Delta Airlines Boeing 757 taking off in Tampa, Fla., on Jan. 20, 2011. (Chris O'Meara/AP Photo)

A Boeing 757 jet operated by Delta Air Lines lost its nose wheel while preparing for takeoff in Atlanta on Jan. 20, according to a report released by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The FAA report said that Delta Flight 982 was lining up and waiting for takeoff at Georgia’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport when its “nose wheel came off and rolled down the hill.”

All 184 passengers and six crew onboard the commercial plane—which was bound for Bogotá, Colombia—were unharmed. The FAA said that it was investigating the incident.

In a statement to multiple media outlets, Delta said the plane was taxiing for departure when “a nose wheel tire came loose from the landing gear.”

All passengers returned to the gate with their belongings and were transferred to another aircraft, the airline said.

“We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”

Other Recent Mishaps

The incident occurred amid the FAA’s grounding of all Boeing 737 Max 9 jets, which was initiated after a door plug of an Alaska Airlines-operated aircraft blew off mid-air on Jan. 5.

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The Alaska Airlines flight was en route to Ontario, California, from Portland, Oregon, on Jan. 5 when its door plug blew off, forcing the pilots to turn back and make an emergency landing.

Six Alaska Airlines passengers have filed a lawsuit against Boeing, saying that the incident “physically injured some passengers and emotionally traumatized most if not all aboard.”

Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun told employees during a meeting on Jan. 9 that the company will work with the National Transportation Safety Board, which is investigating the incident.

Following the incident, the FAA grounded 171 planes because of safety concerns. United Airlines and Alaska Airlines have both reported finding loose parts on several 737 Max 9 planes during inspections.

The FAA is also increasing its oversight of the production and manufacturing processes at Boeing, and on Jan. 12, it announced that it was conducting an audit of the Boeing 737 9 Max production line and its suppliers.

Boeing’s Alaska Airlines mishap is not the only recent incident to cause concern. On Jan. 13, a Japanese airline’s Boeing 737-800 aircraft returned to its departure airport after a crack was discovered in the cockpit window.

On Jan. 17, Secretary of State Antony Blinken had to change planes when an unspecified mechanical failure was discovered on the modified Boeing 737 jet he had flown to Davos for the World Economic Forum. The issue was identified before the plane took off.

On Jan. 18, a Boeing 747-8 cargo plane operated by Atlas Air made an emergency landing at the Miami International Airport after facing an engine malfunction shortly after departing.

Naveen Athrappully contributed to this report.