California, United States: A United Airlines Boeing 737-800 operating Flight 1189 from San Francisco to Los Cabos, Mexico, returned to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on Thursday after one of its tires was damaged during the takeoff roll, prompting the aircraft to turn back shortly after departure. Few media, citing air traffic control audio, reported that the tire burst during the takeoff roll, while United officially described the incident as damage to one tire.
Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft turning back after roughly an hour in flight before landing safely at SFO at about 11:44 a.m.
The aircraft was a Boeing 737-800 carrying 165 passengers and eight crew members. Despite the reported tire damage during departure, the aircraft completed the return flight and landed safely at its departure airport. United said there were no reported injuries among those onboard.
United Airlines confirmed the incident in a statement, saying, “United flight 1189 sustained damage to one tire while departing San Francisco and safely returned to the airport.” The airline did not specify whether the tire failure was caused by a mechanical defect, debris, wear or another factor, and it did not identify the exact tire involved.
Passengers were not taken directly into the terminal after landing. Instead, United said customers “deplaned via airstairs on the tarmac and were taken by bus to the terminal.” The procedure followed the aircraft’s return to SFO while the aircraft and the damaged tire were being inspected.
United said it arranged another aircraft to continue the passengers’ journey to Los Cabos later that afternoon, stating, “We’ve arranged for a different aircraft to take them to Los Cabos later this afternoon.” This allowed the affected passengers to continue their original trip after the Boeing 737-800 was taken out of service for inspection.
The incident also affected airport operations, the blocked runway caused delays to some other flights at SFO. There was no reported crash or emergency landing accident, but the circumstances surrounding the tire damage remain under review.
The Federal Aviation Administration has said it will investigate the incident. As of the latest available update there are no further FAA findings and official cause has not been released.
