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A Boeing 757 lost one of its tires moments before takeoff on Saturday (January 20). The Delta Air Lines flight to Bogotá, Colombia, was taxing down the runway at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport when another pilot noticed the nose tire had fallen off and rolled away.
"Tower, the 75 on the runway just lost the nose tire," a pilot told air traffic controllers.
Another pilot said they watched the tire roll down the runway and land in a ditch.
"Yeah, we saw that tire roll off the runway to the south," the other pilot says. "Looks like it went off the runway, probably down the bank down there."
After some back and forth, the Delta pilot said the aircraft would need to be towed off the runway. Officials were able to reroute the other planes behind the stranded 757 to another runway.
The passengers were deplaned on the runway and bused back to the terminal, where they were booked on another aircraft.
The 757 spent three hours on the runway before being towed back to a maintenance area for inspection. Delta Air Lines told the Washington Post that the issue was quickly fixed, and the plane returned to service the next day.
The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation into the incident. It is the latest issue for a Boeing jet. The FAA is currently investigating the company's Max 9 jets after a door plug blew out in the middle of a flight.