- United Airlines Boeing 757 lost a landing gear wheel during takeoff from Los Angeles, landing safely in Denver.
- FAA mandates inspections for Boeing 737s due to oxygen mask malfunctions.
- Boeing to plead guilty to criminal fraud charges related to 737 Max crashes.
On Monday, a United Airlines Boeing 757-200 lost a landing gear wheel during takeoff from Los Angeles International Airport.
United Airlines Boeing 757 loses wheel taking off at Los Angeles Airport
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Despite the incident, the aircraft, which was nearly 30 years old, successfully landed at its planned destination in Denver with all 174 passengers and seven crew members unharmed.
United Airlines confirmed the wheel had been recovered in Los Angeles and an investigation was underway to determine the cause.
This incident marks the second time this year that a United Airlines plane has lost a wheel.
In March, a Boeing 777-200 lost a tyre mid-air after takeoff from San Francisco, which landed safely in Los Angeles.
The wheel from that incident landed on a car in an airport employee parking lot, causing damage to the vehicle but no injuries.
Boeing 737 aircraft to be inspected over oxygen mask malfunction
On the same day, US aviation regulators issued an airworthiness directive for the inspection of thousands of Boeing 737 airplanes.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expressed concerns over passenger oxygen masks potentially failing during emergencies.
The directive, which affects over 2,600 US-registered airplanes, requires operators to check and, if necessary, correct the positioning of the passenger service unit oxygen generators within 120 to 150 days.
This mandate follows multiple reports of the generators shifting out of position, prompting a need for visual inspections to ensure they are correctly placed.
The FAA’s directive aims to ensure passenger safety and prevent malfunctions during critical situations.
Boeing to plead guilty to criminal fraud charges
In a significant legal development, Boeing has agreed to plead guilty to a criminal fraud charge related to two fatal crashes of its 737 Max jetliners.
According to reports, the US Department of Justice determined that Boeing violated a previous agreement that had shielded it from prosecution for over three years.
The charge stems from accusations that Boeing deceived regulators who approved the airplane and pilot-training requirements for the 737 Max.
The plea deal, which awaits federal court approval, includes a $243.6 million fine, the same amount Boeing paid under a 2021 settlement.
Additionally, an independent monitor will oversee Boeing’s safety and quality procedures for three years.
This agreement addresses Boeing’s misconduct prior to the crashes, which resulted in the deaths of 346 passengers and crew members on two 737 Max flights in Indonesia and Ethiopia between October 2018 and March 2019.
Federal prosecutors alleged that Boeing conspired to defraud the government by misleading regulators about a flight-control system implicated in the crashes.
The company’s guilty plea will be entered in the US District Court in Texas.
The judge overseeing the case has criticized Boeing’s actions and could either accept the plea deal or reject it, potentially leading to further negotiations.