Delta Flight Grounded as Boeing 757 Nose Wheel Detaches During Takeoff Preparation

A Delta Air Lines flight scheduled to travel from Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Bogota, Colombia last weekend was forced to cancel takeoff after a nose wheel fell off and rolled away as the plane was readying for takeoff.

According to an FAA report, there were no injuries to passengers after the wheel “came off and rolled down the hill.” All passengers were deplaned and bused to a terminal and then transferred to a replacement aircraft. The FAA is reportedly investigating what exactly happened.

The incident occurred with a Boeing 757 plane. While the plane was returned to service the next day, the FAA’s investigation adds to Boeing’s ongoing issues. The company is currently dealing with a deep investigation into its 737 MAX 9s, which remain grounded after Alaska Airlines Flight 1282.

There remains no exact timeline for the re-introduction of the Boeing 787 MAX 9s—Alaska this week said that it is still waiting on FAA directives and once those are received, it will take at least “several days” to complete all inspections and get those aircraft back in service.

On Tuesday, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO Stan Deal said that the company had “let down” its airline customers and that it was “deeply sorry for the significant disruption to them.”

“We are taking action on a comprehensive plan to bring these airplanes safely back to service and to improve our quality and delivery performance. We will follow the lead of the FAA and support our customers every step of the way,” he said.

Also this week, the two North American airlines with the largest 737 MAX 9 fleets, United Airlines and Alaska Airlines, spoke candidly about their relationships with Boeing.  

United Airlines said that it will start to consider alternatives to Boeing. CEO Scott Kirby, in an interview with CNBC, said that the MAX 9 issues, combined with the MAX 10 being at least five years behind schedule, is making the airline consider a different kind of future.

“I think the Max 9 grounding is probably the straw that broke the camel’s back for us,” Kirby told CNBC. “We’re going to at least build a plan that doesn’t have the Max 10 in it.”

Alaska Airlines, in an interview with NBC Nightly News, said that it has had “very rough, candid conversations” with Boeing.

“I’m angry. I’m angry. I’m more than frustrated and disappointed. I am angry. This happened to Alaska Airlines. It happened to our guests and happened to our people. And — my demand on Boeing is what are they going to do to improve their quality programs in-house. And then in addition, in addition to the FAA oversight that’s going to come on top of this. We’re now putting our own extra oversight on the production line in Boeing,” CEO Ben Minicucci said.