Tire falls off United flight departing from San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO: A tire fell off a United Airlines flight departing from US San Francisco International Airport (SFO) to Osaka, Japan.

"United flight 35 lost one tire after takeoff from San Francisco on Thursday," the company said in a statement, referring to the Boeing 777-200 flight, which was then diverted to Los Angles International Airport and landed safely.

United quickly arranged for a new aircraft to take customers to Osaka on Thursday evening, it said, Xinhua news agency reported.

The tire debris landed in one of the airport's employee parking lots. No injuries were reported.

According to United Airlines, the flight had 235 customers, 10 flight attendants and four pilots on board.

"The 777-200 has six tires on each of its two main landing gear struts. The aircraft is designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires," United Airlines noted.

In a statement, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said it will investigate this incident.

Details are awaited.