Tire Incident Was the Second in Four Months, Plane Landed Safely
Early Saturday morning, a shirtless and barefoot man experiencing a mental health crisis caused a disturbance at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Airport police responded to the situation, which involved an officer firing a Taser at the individual.
The incident was caught on video and is now under review by the department. The man, whose identity has not been disclosed, was subsequently tackled, arrested for battery against an officer, and transported to the hospital for a mental health evaluation.
In a separate incident on Monday morning, a United Airlines 757 lost one of its main landing gear tires during takeoff from LAX. According to a statement from United, no injuries were reported. A pilot from an Allegiant flight, awaiting takeoff on the runway, alerted Air Traffic Control after observing the tire roll by following the United 757’s departure.
The United flight continued to Denver and landed without incident. “The wheel has been recovered in Los Angeles, and we are investigating what caused this event,” the airline stated. This is the second time a United flight has lost a wheel during takeoff in four months. The previous plane lost a wheel during a flight from San Francisco International Airport to Osaka, Japan. The flight was diverted and landed at LAX in March after the tire landed in an employee parking lot and smashed into cars in the lot.
