A Boeing 757 lost its front tire as the plane was preparing to depart for an international flight over the weekend, the latest mechanical mishap to hit the beleaguered airline line.
Just before noon Saturday at Atlanta International Airport, a Delta flight bound for Bogota, Colombia, was taxiing down the runway toward a takeoff position when another plane alerted the control tower that something was wrong.
“Hey, Tower, the 75 on the runway just lost its front tire,” the pilot of the next plane in the takeoff queue said, according to audio obtained by VASAviation.
“Delta 982, this is the plane that looks at you. “One of the front wheels just came loose,” the pilot continued.
“Thanks for that… looks like we have a problem,” the Delta pilot responded.
After breaking off, the plane’s tire rolled across the runway before sliding down an embankment, the pilot reported.
Maintenance crews were called to the scene to locate the tire and assess the situation, while flights behind were forced to wait at the scene.
A Delta plane lost a tire while taxiing on the runway. AP
“Are you going to direct us to another track? Because it looks like this could take quite a while,” a Southwest pilot asked the tower.
“We are in the process. There are a lot of moving parts behind the scenes. Give me a second,” the control tower said.
The planes were eventually diverted to other runways, while the Delta plane remained on the runway for three hours.
It is still unclear what caused the tire to come off.
Delta did not respond to requests for comment at the time of publication.
Boeing has made headlines in recent weeks after a 737 Max 9, owned by Alaska Airlines, lost a door plug in the skies over Oregon during a flight to California in early January.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn