United Air Boeing 777 loses a wheel at takeoff, smashes car

Planes get plenty of redundant systems because flying, at the best of times, is a real workout on an aircraft. For instance, the Boeing 777 bolts six tires apiece on each of its two rear landing gear struts. According to Bridgestone, which held the contract to supply the rubber, each 36-ply tire on the rear gear is 52 inches across by 21 inches wide, weighs 266 pounds, is inflated to between 200 and 220 psi, can be run up to 235 miles per hour and can support a load of 66,500 pounds. Since a loaded Boeing 777 can have a maximum landing weight of just over 200,000 pounds, those rear landing gear could lose a few tires and still handle the job. That's a good thing for the plane and passengers. Still, losing a tire isn't supposed to happen, and will have consequences for whatever's below. That's what happened when a United Airlines 777-200 leaving San Francisco for Osaka, Japan, lost one of those tires just after takeoff, about 200 or 300 feet in the air. Passengers said the pilots informed them something was "interfering" with the plane. Air Traffic Control alerted the pilots the tire fell off. An American Airlines pilot asked, “Do you guys know where that tire went?”