United Airlines plane makes a safe emergency landing in LA after losing a tire during takeoff

It was then towed away.

The flight carried 235 passengers and a crew of 14, United said. The airline said that the plane, built in 2002, was designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires. The passengers will be moved to another plane for the rest of the trip, United said.

Boeing 777s have six tires on each of the two main landing gears. Video of Flight 35 departing shows the plane losing one of the six tires on its left-side main landing gear assembly seconds after takeoff.

Aviation experts said planes losing tires is a rare occurrence and not indicative of a larger safety issue.

“In aviation, we never want to have single points of failure if they can be avoided, and this is a case in point,” said Alan Price, a former chief pilot for Delta Air Lines.

“The remaining tires are fully capable of handling the load,” he added.

Price said a loose tire is normally a maintenance issue and not a problem created by the manufacturer.

John Cox, a retired pilot and professor of aviation safety at the University of Southern California, agreed. “I don’t see any impact for Boeing as it was a United maintenance team that changed the tire,” he said.

The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate, spokesman Tony Molinaro said.