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‘Came Off And Rolled Down The Hill’: Boeing Jet Loses Nose Wheel While Preparing For Takeoff

A Delta airlines aircraft

Photo by James D. Morgan/Getty Images

Samuel Spencer Contributor
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Passengers aboard a Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 were forced to take a replacement flight Saturday after one of the plane’s nose wheels came loose and rolled away during takeoff preparations.

The incident occurred at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, Georgia. No passengers or crew were injured during the event, according to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA’s report said the plane’s “nose wheel came off and rolled down the hill.”

The Delta Air Lines Flight 982 was scheduled to fly from Atlanta to Bogotá, Colombia, according to The New York Times. Amid scrutiny regarding the aircraft manufacturer, a Boeing spokesperson declined to comment and directed all questions to the airline, Delta. The FAA is investigating the incident.

Boeing is facing public and legal backlash following a series of mechanical and structural problems. The FAA grounded all of Boeing’s 737 Max 9 Aircrafts worldwide after one of their planes malfunctioned during flight. (RELATED: Video Shows Boeing Jet Engulfed In Flames After Engine Malfunction Mid-Air)

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the company will make plans to move forward without Boeing. The massive company found loose bolts near or around the plug doors of at least five Boeing aircraft in an inspection, which was sparked by the incident where the emergency plug door ripped off during an Alaskan Airlines flight.

“I think the Max 9 grounding is probably the straw that broke the camel’s back for us,” Kirby said. “We’re going to at least build a plan that doesn’t have the Max 10 in it.”

Kayak, a leading online travel resource, updated their filters to let users choose which type of plane they would prefer to fly on, effectively allowing users to make sure they do not fly on any of potentially aircrafts.

The CEO of Boeing is set to meet with senators during the week, according to a Reuters report published Tuesday. He told reporters that he does not want his company’s planes to be flown if they’re not completely  confident in the aircraft’s safety.

FAA administrator Mike Whitaker said Jan. 12 in an official statement that the agency will review its oversight of Boeing, specifically its delegation of some oversight powers to the company itself.