A British Airways aircraft lost its ‘main wheel’ just after take-off after departing from Las Vegas to London’s Heathrow. The incident which happened at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) on Monday was captured on Flightradar24’s live stream.

Despite the mechanical failure, the flight continued on its trans-Atlantic journey to the UK and the plane landed safely at Heathrow at 2.48pm (local time) on Tuesday.

Aircraft taken out of service for inspection

The aircraft has been taken out of service for inspection and repairs, according to AirLive.

They said rather than diverting to a nearby airport, the decision to continue is “often made in consultation with airline operations and engineering teams, provided the aircraft’s safety systems remain within acceptable margins”.

ALSO READ

The Airbus A350-1000 is equipped with 14 wheels in total: a two-wheel nose landing gear and two six-wheel main landing-gear bogies, one on each side, for a total of 12 main wheels.

British Airways issues statement

British Airways has issued a statement as they probe the cause of the mid-air separation.

“Safety and security underpins everything we do and we’re supporting the authorities with their investigations,” the airline said.

ALSO READ

Similar past incidents

It is not the first time a wheel has come loose from a plane moments after take-off. Back in 2024, a United Airlines flight taking off from San Francisco International Airport lost a wheel which could be seen on video hurtling towards the ground as the plane flew off without it.

The aircraft, which had been scheduled to fly to Osaka, Japan, diverted to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) shortly after the wheel separation and landed safely at LAX.

CNN had reported that an Allegiant flight bound for Tulsa, Oklahoma, saw the wayward wheel as it bounced across runways and taxiways at Los Angeles Airport.

They radioed: “A tire came off that 75 that took off, we saw it rolling down past bravo seven, bravo eight.”