An aviation blog has captured the moment a 100kg flywheel fell to the ground from a 180t cargo plane as it took off in Italy on Tuesday.
Brazilian aviation blog Aeroin posted footage of the wheel falling to the ground from the Boeing Dreamlifter, the world’s longest cargo plane, as it took off from the southern city of Taranto.
“Boeing 747-400 Dreamlifter has one of its tires on fire and loses rudder after takeoff,” the blog posted along with the video on its Twitter feed.
The flight was operated by US cargo airline Atlas Air on October 11, bound for Charleston, South Carolina. It was coded as Atlas Air flight N718BA.
The wheel can be seen falling off the plane almost immediately as it takes off and climbs over the runway, with smoke billowing from the landing gear area before it hits the ground.
The Dreamlifter’s wheels, of which there are 18, are typically four feet in diameter.
Reports said the wheel was found in a nearby vineyard near Taranto-Grottaglie Airport, with no one injured in the incident.
The Dreamlifter is a converted Boeing 747 aircraft designed in the early 2000s to transport parts for Boeing’s new 787 Dreamliner between continents.
In a statement, Boeing confirmed the incident and said the flight had landed safely on October 11.
A spokesperson said: “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 during take-off from Taranto-Grottaglie Airport in Italy this morning.
Smoke billows from the landing gear area before the tire hits the ground
(Twitter/@Aero_in)
“We will support our operator’s investigation.”
“This is absolutely outrageous. I don’t want to be anywhere near where that guy tries to land,’ one follower tweeted after the footage was posted.
“Good thing they keep spares on board when they have to pull over,” joked Twitter user Jeff Bishop.
Several Twitter users responded with photos of a large tire in what appears to be a field or vineyard, but the sources for these have not been identified.
In September, a couple living in Belgium were shocked when part of a Boeing 747 engine sank into the roof of their garage.
Meanwhile in April, a Tui flight was forced to make an emergency landing last month after its tail clipped the runway during takeoff.
