A United Airlines aircraft was diverted to Los Angeles International Airport Thursday afternoon after a tire fell out of the plane shortly after a takeoff from San Francisco International Airport on its way to Japan.
The commercial airliner confirmed that United flight 35, a Boeing 777-200, lost one tire with 235 passengers, 10 flight attendants, 4 pilots onboard.
"The 777-200 has six tires on each of its two main landing gear struts," a representative from the airliner said in a statement. "The aircraft is designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires."
The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed the plane landed safely at LAX at around 1:30 p.m. after flight crews reported a landing gear issue.
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San Francisco International Airport officials located the missing tire in a nearby parking lot.
The tire damaged several vehicles. And while crews cleared debris, the runway was briefly closed without further impacting airport operations.
No one was injured during the trip from SFO to LAX.
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The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate the cause of the incident.
