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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A United Airlines plane that lost a tire while taking off in San Francisco made a safe emergency landing Thursday at Los Angeles International Airport, and no injuries were reported.
Video posted online showed United Flight 35 taking off in San Francisco, and the wheel can be seen falling away from the Boeing 777-200. Media reports out of San Francisco indicated that some cars were damaged by the falling tire. Pictures from the scene showed at least one parked car with a shattered rear window.
The plane, which was bound for Japan, landed at LAX around 1:15 p.m.
The airline issued a statement saying confirming the loss of a tire on the flight, and said new arrangements were being made for the 235 passengers to continue their trip. According to United, the passengers were expected to depart LAX at 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
"The 777-200 has six tires on each of its two main landing gear struts," according to the airline. "The aircraft is designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires."
Los Angeles Fire Department crews went on standby alert at LAX while the plane approached the airfield. The runway was briefly closed to air traffic so it could be cleared of any debris, but it was quickly reopened.