Watch: Cargo plane plunges after its wheel falls off during takeoff
A wheel fell off a giant Boeing Co. cargo jet and plunged to the ground shortly after the aircraft took off from Taranto in southern Italy on Tuesday morning.
A video posted on Twitter showed a plume of black smoke suddenly spit out from the 747-400 Dreamlifter’s undercarriage and a wheel like a giant bowling ball flying to the runway and bouncing away.
The aircraft, operated Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc., continued with its journey and landed safely about 11 hours later at a Boeing production facility in Charleston, South Carolina.
Un Boeing 747 Dreamlifter operat de Atlas Air (N718BA) care a decolat marți dimineață (11OCT22) din Taranto (IT) spre Charleston (SUA) a pierdut o roată a trenului principal de aterizare în timpul decolării.
Avionul operează zborul #5Y4231 și transportă componente de Dreamliner. pic.twitter.com/R95UHkLD7V
— BoardingPass (@BoardingPassRO) October 11, 2022
The footage of the takeoff made it the most tracked flight in the world, with more than 10,000 users following its journey, according to data from Flightradar24.
#5Y4231, the Dreamlifter with the missing wheel, is descending into Charleston now. Important to note that while suboptimal, the aircraft can land safely without the wheel. https://t.co/QpORCsFLQd pic.twitter.com/2JWeyaYDN9
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 11, 2022
The cause of the incident isn’t yet clear. A Boeing spokesperson said the company will support Atlas Air’s investigation. Atlas Air wasn’t immediately available to respond to a request for comment.
The Dreamlifter is a modified version of the 747-400 and is mainly used to transport Boeing 787 parts for the Arlington, Virginia-headquartered aircraft manufacturer.
While slightly smaller than the Airbus 380, the largest passenger jet in operation, it is still among the biggest special cargo planes in the world.
