BREAKING: United Airlines Boeing 777 loses tire during takeoff from SF, crushes cars on the ground

A United Airlines flight that departed from San Francisco bound for Japan has been diverted to Los Angeles International Airport after the Boeing aircraft lost a wheel during takeoff. 

According to KRON, San Francisco International Airport officials said that the flight, UA 35, lost the tire during takeoff, causing the runway to be closed briefly and damage to multiple cars as a result of the tire hitting them. The cars hit were in a surface parking lot used by airport employees.

The flight took off at 11:23 am PST and was diverted to Los Angeles around 25 minutes later. The plane landed at LAX at 1:27 pm PST.

According to ABC 7, United said in a statement, "The flight will land at LAX. Once the flight lands in Los Angeles we will arrange a new aircraft to continue this trip for our customers." 

"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," the airline said.

This comes after Boeing’s 737-9 MAX aircraft equipped with a door plug were grounded after a panel had blown out midair during an Alaska Airlines flight on January 5.

Boing employees in Renton, Washington participated in a "quality stand down" in late January, during which "teammates will participate in hands-on learning, reflection, and collaboration to identify where quality and compliance can be improved and create actionable plans that will be tracked to closure."

This is a breaking story. Please refresh the page for updates.