On March 7, 2024, at approximately 11:35AM, a tire fell off a United Airlines Boeing 777-200ER after it took off from San Francisco as flight 35 bound for Osaka Kansai. The aircraft diverted to and landed safely at Los Angeles International Airport about two hours later.
The aircraft involved in the accident was N226UA, which was delivered to United in 2002. A total of 249 people including 235 passengers and 14 crew members were onboard the flight. The tire landed in an employee parking lot next to San Francisco Airport. Although the falling tire damaged multiple cars parked in the lot, no injuries were reported.
Following the accident, San Francisco Airport’s runway was briefly closed for inspection.
“Our team quickly arranged for a new aircraft to take customers to Osaka this evening,” said United Airlines. Based on FlightRadar24 data, a substitute aircraft (N782UA) departed from Los Angeles as flight United 35 about six and a half hours after the damaged aircraft landed in Los Angeles and is now making its way to Osaka Kansai.
