The nose wheel of a Delta Airlines Boeing 757 jet fell off and rolled away while the plane was waiting on the runway for takeoff clearance. According to a preliminary report from the Federal Aviation Administration, Delta Air Lines Flight 982 was prepping for takeoff from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta on Saturday when the wheel “came off and rolled down the hill.”
Boeing declined to comment, instead directing inquiries to the airline. Delta said Wednesday that Flight 982 had 172 passengers, in addition to two pilots and four crew members, bound for Bogotá, the capital of Colombia. Passengers were removed from the plane and later put on a replacement flight, with no injuries reported. Delta said in a statement Wednesday: “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 removed from the aircraft, transferred to the gate and onto a replacement aircraft. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.” The plane was put back into service the next day, Delta said. According to an online record of the plane’s history, it has been active since 1992.
The latest incident with a Boeing aircraft comes weeks after a panel on an Alaska Airlines flight blew out midflight, prompting the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 9 planes nationwide and an ongoing investigation. Alaska Airlines CEO Ben Minicucci said that an internal investigation had found that “many” Max 9 planes were found to have loose bolts. In a separate incident, another Boeing plane, a 747 cargo jet, was seen spewing flames into the sky over Miami last week.
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