by A Boeing 757 plane operated by Delta Air Lines lost a nose wheel while preparing to take off from Atlanta’s main airport on Saturday, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. It was the latest worrying episode involving one of the manufacturer’s planes.
Delta Air Lines Flight 982 was preparing to take off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for a trip to Bogota, Colombia, around 11:15 a.m. Saturday when a “nose wheel detached and rolled down a hill.” , the agency said in a preliminary report.
More than 170 passengers who were on board had to disembark, but no one was injured, according to the report.
A Delta spokesperson said the passengers were transferred to a replacement flight.
A Boeing spokesperson declined to comment and directed questions to Delta.
The FAA said it was continuing its investigation.
It has been a turbulent period for Boeing, which in recent years has been plagued by safety concerns after deadly catastrophes. The manufacturer is facing new scrutiny after a door plug on a new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane exploded at 16,000 feet on Jan. 5, just after takeoff from Portland International Airport in Oregon.
No one was seriously injured then, but passengers were exposed to strong winds on the plane’s harrowing return to Portland.
The FAA then ordered about 170 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes to remain grounded in the United States until they could be inspected. The plane that lost a wheel in Atlanta on Saturday, a Boeing 757, is a different model.
