Boeing 757 loses nose wheel before take-off in US

A Delta Air Line plane takes off in Australia. Authorities are investigating the latest incident with one of its planes in Atlanta, the US. Getty Images

A Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 passenger plane’s nose wheel fell off and rolled away as the jet lined up for take-off, a US regulator said.

A preliminary notice from the Federal Aviation Administration said the incident occurred at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta at the weekend. None of the 184 passengers or six crew members were injured, the FAA said.

The notice said the “nose wheel came off and rolled down the hill” as the Boeing 757 was preparing for take-off.

The plane had been scheduled to go to Bogota, Colombia. Passengers were put on a replacement flight after the mishap, a Delta representative told The New York Times.

The FAA said it was investigating the incident and Boeing declined to comment to the newspaper.

Boeing already faces questions over the safety of its aircraft by regulators after a door plug on a Boeing 737 Max 9 jet blew off on an Alaska Airlines flight this month.

The FAA grounded 171 Max 9s after the incident.

The safety concerns also prompted United Airlines to consider operating its fleet without Boeing 737 Max 10 planes.