The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Tuesday that it will initiate an investigation into a major technical issue that occurred on a Delta flight to Colombia when one of the aircraft’s front tires broke off while the plane was preparing to take off.
In preliminary FAA report, an air traffic controller is heard informing the pilot that “one of your nose tires just came off, it just rolled off the runway behind you.”
The aviation mishap occurred on Saturday around 11:15 a.m. local time. A nose wheel of a Boeing 757 passenger jet, operated by Delta Air Lines, dislodged and rolled away as the plane was lining up for takeoff with almost 200 people on board at Atlanta’s international airport.
Boeing recently came under intense scrutiny after an Alaska Airlines’s aircraft’s mid-air fuselage panel blowout.
According to Delta, the aircraft carrying 172 passengers, two pilots, and four crew members was scheduled for Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, at the time of mishap. However, the passengers were taken off the aircraft and diverted to a different flight. No injuries were reported.
What did Boeing say about the mishap?
While Boeing has not issued any statement on the incident, Delta said: “Delta Flight 982 ATL/BOG was taxiing for departure when a nose gear tire came loose from the landing gear.”
“All customers and their bags were vacated from the aircraft, diverted to the gate and onto a replacement aircraft. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”
The airline further informed that the aircraft returned to service the next day.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), an aviation enthusiast who was present the airport filmed the incident.’
The plane has been in service since 1992.
Based on data from Airports Council International, Atlanta airport is the world’s busiest, with over 93 million passengers annually.
This incident is the latest in a chain of recent Boeing aircraft disasters. The FAA grounded 171 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft after an 8-week-old Alaska Airlines aircraft experienced a mid-air blowout of an engine panel on January 5.
The FAA released a “Safety Alert for Operators” in reaction to the incident, stressing the need for extra checks of the 737-900ER mid-exit door plugs.
