American Airlines 757 loses wheel @ SEA, lands safely @ DFW

[TallDutch]

SEATTLE (AP) -- An American Airlines 757 lost a wheel leaving Sea-Tac Airport Wednesday morning and landed safely about four hours later at Dallas-Fort Worth.

Sea-Tac spokesman Bob Parker said the tower noticed a ring on a runway threshold at about 7:30 a.m. Crews determined it was part of a wheel. Later, airport officials heard that an American Airlines jet had lost a wheel.

A search found the rest of the wheel behind a sign, next to a runway, Parker said.

The airport notified the Federal Aviation Administration, which called the situation a maintenance issue for American, he said.

American Airlines spokesman John Hotard in Fort Worth said there was no indication in the cockpit that the wheel had fallen off. The plane was rolling to the gate just before noon when the pilot was notified by someone on the group that one of the dual nose wheels was missing, he said.

The plane stopped short of the gate and all 145 passengers exited safety, Hotard said.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/ ... TE=DEFAULT

[i_mizrahi]

I take this opportunity to wonder: to the best of my knowledge, American has not ordered Boeing 787s. In that case, how they are planning to renew their aging 757-767 fleet?

[Matt Molnar]

Many are expecting a 787 order soon, possibly this year. AMR certainly has enough cash these days to make a deal.

[Ari707]

think how much fuel they saved flying without that wheel...

[i_mizrahi]

Many are expecting a 787 order soon, possibly this year. AMR certainly has enough cash these days to make a deal.

If they place an order in '07, they will get the planes sometime around 2014...

Let's hope the good old 757-767 stay together in the sky.

[cancidas]

strange the crew didn't notice it. then again, the nose gear strut is vertical so it doesn't turn to some wierd angles that would cause it to drag on the ground. wonder what part actually failed and why...