A British Airways passenger jet lost a tyre shortly after departure from Las Vegas on Monday evening, Jan. 26. Despite the mishap, the aircraft continued to London and safely without further incident.
Wheel detaches as Airbus departs
The situation features an Airbus A350-1000 operating as British Airways Flight BA274. The aircraft was bound for London Heathrow from Harry Reid International Airport. Airport officials said the aircraft departed shortly after 9 p.m. local time, when the right, rear wheel on its main landing gear detached.
Video from an automated live stream at the Las Vegas airport later circulated online. Many viewers commented on visible sparks coming from the right main landing gear as the aircraft lifted off. Moments later, the footage shows a wheel separating from the aircraft as the landing gear is being retracted.
Monika Bertaki, a spokeswoman from Harry Reid International, said the wheel was later recovered from the airfield. Crucially, she said there were no injuries and no damage to airport property.
Flight lands safely as investigation begins
British Airways stated the aircraft successfully completed the transatlantic flight, landing safely at London Heathrow after roughly nine hours and 17 minutes.
The Airbus A350-1000’s main landing gear is equipped with six wheels arranged in three pairs on each side. The wheel that detached was the rear-most, outer wheel on the right main landing gear.
Although it was not immediately clear what caused the wheel separation, such incidents are rare, and aircraft are designed to land safely even with landing gear anomalies. Maintenance and inspection procedures following the flight were not disclosed.
British Airways did not comment on whether the aircraft had been removed from service pending further inspection. However, aviation authorities are expected to review the incident in line with standard safety protocols.
Harry Reid International Airport suggested normal operations were not disrupted following the recovery of the rogue tyre.
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