Investigation underway into why wheel feel off Boeing 737
Monday, Feb. 22, 1999 | 8:33 a.m.
The wheel from the Shuttle by United plane landed across the street from houses in the Rewana Farms neighborhood, just southwest of the airport runway. No injuries were reported.
The jet, which left Thursday night, continued to San Francisco and landed safely.
The wheel was one of four on the rear landing gear, said United Airlines spokesman Andy Plews.
"It is a situation that we are investigating," he said. "We will treat it with the utmost seriousness."
The Federal Aviation Administration also will investigate the incident.
"It is an extremely rare occurrence," said airport spokesman Adam Mayberry. "Wheels falling off of airplanes is even more unusual than engines shutting down."
It was the second airline equipment failure at the airport Thursday. Earlier in the day, a Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit had to return to Reno shortly after takeoff when one of three engines failed.
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