A Boeing 757 plane operated by Delta Air Lines lost a nose wheel as it prepared to take off from Atlanta’s main airport Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It was the latest troubling episode involving one of the manufacturer’s aircraft.
Delta Air Lines Flight 982 was preparing to take off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for a trip to Bogotá, Colombia, at about 11:15 a.m. Saturday when a “nose wheel came off and rolled down the hill,” the agency said in a preliminary report.
More than 170 passengers who were aboard had to deplane, but no one was hurt, the report said.
A Delta spokesperson said the passengers were put on a replacement flight.
A Boeing spokesperson declined to comment and directed questions to Delta.
The FAA said that it was continuing its investigation.
It’s been a turbulent period for Boeing, which has been fraught in recent years with safety concerns after deadly catastrophes.
The manufacturer faces renewed scrutiny after a door plug blew off a new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max 9 plane at 16,000 feet on Jan. 5 just after it took off from the Portland International Airport in Oregon.
No one was seriously injured then, but passengers were exposed to whipping winds on the plane’s harrowing return to Portland.
The FAA then ordered about 170 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes to be grounded in the United States until they could be inspected. The plane that lost a wheel in Atlan
The plane had been scheduled for a flight to Bogota, Colombia when the mishap occurred, and a Delta spokesperson said the passengers were put on a replacement flight, according to the New York Times, which broke the story late on Tuesday. The newspaper said Boeing declined to comment and directed questions to the airline.
The FAA told the newspaper it was continuing its investigation of the incident.
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