A Boeing 747-400 Dreamlifter operated by Atlas Air lost a wheel from its main landing gear on takeoff today from Taranto, Italy. And plane spotters along the route captured imagery of the takeoff, flight, and landing.
The heavy lifter was taking off for Boeing’s 787 production facility in Charleston, South Carolina when its wheel began smoking and fell to the ground. The plane is used to haul 787 parts.
Plane continued on after wheel fell off
In the video the gear appears to have retracted properly, so the crew pushed on to their destination and probably dumped some fuel along the way to lighten up for landing with a wheel missing. Tho we’re unable to confirm that.
Fortunately, nobody was hurt on the ground as the wheel fell from the sky. Airport personnel recovered the separated tire.
Twitter user @rjsphoto even captured the plane as it flew over Boston, en route to Charleston.
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The plane landed without incident in Charleston, SC after its ocean crossing. Twitter user @stephen_bozek was there to capture the landing. The incident is under investigation. There’s no info available at this time about what caused the tire to separate from the gear’s bogey.
Not the first time wheels have fell off
It’s not the first time an airliner has lost wheels, and it certainly won’t be the last. A Virgin Atlantic 747-400 landed safely at LGW in London back in 2014 after suffering a failure of its right outer main gear.
A Westjet 767 also lost a wheel on takeoff from Calgary back in 2017. That plane too landed safely back at the airport, after circling for 45 minutes. The tire was found embedded in a runway sign.
