Wheel that fell off plane risked landing in ‘urban area’, report finds

A wheel that fell off a passenger plane during a flight from Edinburgh to Belfast “could have fallen on an urban area” if it had happened later in the journey, an accident investigation has found.

According to the Air Accident Investigation Branch report, one of the two wheels under the nose of the aircraft became detached as it was taking off from Edinburgh Airport at 9.17am on October 31st 2023.

Neither ground crew in Edinburgh, nor the flight crew on board the plane, noticed the wheel had fallen off, and its absence was spotted only after the plane had landed at Belfast City Airport and was being taxied into a stand.

Despite missing one of its two front wheels, the plane was described as “stable”, but additional support was added to the nosewheel to provide protection against the wind.

Once the missing wheel had been reported, both airports carried out runway inspections and local police searched the area under the approach path into Belfast.

The wheel was found…