Watch: Cargo plane plunges after its wheel falls off during takeoff
A wheel fell off a giant Boeing Co. cargo jet and plunged to the ground shortly after the aircraft took off from Taranto in southern Italy on Tuesday morning.
A video posted on Twitter showed a plume of black smoke suddenly spit out from the 747-400 Dreamlifter’s undercarriage and a wheel like a giant bowling ball flying to the runway and bouncing away.
The aircraft, operated by Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings Inc., continued with its journey and landed safely about 11 hours later at a Boeing production facility in Charleston, South Carolina.
