Heart-stopping footage has shown the wheel of a Boeing 757 bouncing down a runway after coming loose during takeoff.
The United Airlines flight was departing Los Angeles on Monday when disaster struck, sending one of its main landing gear wheels rolling across the tarmac.
Miraculously, the plane - carrying 174 passengers and seven crew members - managed to land safely in Denver despite the malfunction.
United Airlines confirmed the incident in a statement: 'The wheel has been recovered in Los Angeles, and we are investigating what caused this event.'
This is the latest incident in a series of alarming issues plaguing the troubled Boeing aircraft.
Heart-stopping footage has shown the wheel of a Boeing 757 bouncing down a runway after coming loose during takeoff
The United Airlines flight was departing Los Angeles on Monday when disaster struck, sending one of its main landing gear wheels rolling across the tarmac.
It is similar to one that occurred in March when a United Boeing B777-200 jet lost a tire this time after takeoff from San Francisco.
The runaway wheel then crash-landed onto a car in an airport employee parking lot on March 7.
In April, Southwest Boeing 737-800 lost engine cover during takeoff.
And in January, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max suffered from a blown-out door plug mid-flight.
It comes just days after the company announced it plans to plead guilty to fraud in connection with approval of its 737 Max before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia.
The American aerospace giant has apparently made the calculation that admitting to a crime is better than fighting the charge and enduring a long public trial.
In a legal filing late Sunday - minutes before a midnight deadline - the Justice Department disclosed the agreement and said the fraud charge was 'the most serious readily provable offense' it could bring against Boeing.
Prosecutors say Boeing will pay another $243.6 million fine, matching a fine it paid in 2021 for the same crime.
The Justice Department says a conviction for fraud will hold Boeing accountable for 'misstatements' it made to regulators who certified the 737 Max in 2017.
The crashes took place less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019.
The incident is strikingly similar to one that occurred in March when a United Boeing 777-200 jet lost a tire, this time after takeoff from San Francisco (pictured above)
The company still faces investigations into the blowout of a panel from an Alaska Airlines Max plane in January, increased oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration, and accusations from current and former employees about poor workmanship and retaliation against whistleblowers.
Boeing's plea deal would bring the total to $487.2 million, which the Justice Department says is the legal maximum for the fraud charge.
The deal also requires the company to invest at least $455 million to improve safety.
It will be on court-supervised probation for three years, and the Justice Department will name an independent monitor to oversee Boeing's compliance with terms of the plea agreement.
Boeing's board of directors will also be required to meet with families of the victims.
