Aviation blog FlightGlobal posted a video of a Boeing 747-400 Large Cargo Freighter, known as the Dreamlifter, experiencing a landing-gear malfunction that resulted in the loss of a wheel.
The
Dreamlifter took off from Taranto-Grottaglie Airport in Italy on
Tuesday when trailing black smoke poured from the plane's main landing
gear. This happened in a split second as one of the wheels fell off and
plunged to the ground.
Un Boeing 747 Dreamlifter operat de Atlas Air (N718BA) care a decolat marți dimineață (11OCT22) din Taranto (IT) spre Charleston (SUA) a pierdut o roată a trenului principal de aterizare în timpul decolării.
— BoardingPass (@BoardingPassRO) October 11, 2022
Avionul operează zborul #5Y4231 și transportă componente de Dreamliner. pic.twitter.com/R95UHkLD7V
The
world's longest cargo aircraft is operated by Atlas Air Worldwide
Holdings Inc. Flightradar24 data showed the cargo plane continued with
its planned flight path and landed safely eleven hours later at a Boeing
production facility in Charleston, South Carolina.
#5Y4231, the Dreamlifter with the missing wheel, is descending into Charleston now. Important to note that while suboptimal, the aircraft can land safely without the wheel. https://t.co/QpORCsFLQd pic.twitter.com/2JWeyaYDN9
— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) October 11, 2022
After the wheel hit the runway, it bounced to a nearby vineyard. It was found shortly after the incident.
In a statement to the British online newspaper The Independent, a Boeing spokesperson confirmed the plane landed safely after encountering a landing gear issue:
"A Dreamlifter cargo flight operated by Atlas Air landed safely earlier today at Charleston International Airport, after losing a wheel assembly from its landing gear on takeoff from the Taranto-Grottaglie Airport in Italy this morning.
"We will support our operator's investigation."
The cause of the incident isn't yet clear...