British Airways Flight Loses Wheel During Las Vegas Takeoff

 A routine flight from the neon lights of Las Vegas to London turned into an aviation talking point this week after a British Airways Airbus A350-1000 lost one of its main landing gear wheels shortly after takeoff.

The incident, which occurred on Monday, January 26, 2026, involved Flight BA274 departing from Harry Reid International Airport (LAS). Captured on a Flightradar24 livestream, dramatic footage shows sparks flying from the right-hand landing gear before the rear-most wheel detaches and plunges to the ground as the gear begins to retract.

A Safe Arrival Despite the Loss

Remarkably, the flight crew opted to continue the 5,000-mile journey across the Atlantic. While losing a wheel sounds catastrophic, the Airbus A350-1000 is a powerhouse of engineering; it features 14 wheels in total, with 12 on the main landing gear alone. This redundancy allowed the aircraft to:

• Maintain stability during its 9-hour and 17-minute flight.
• Land safely and "uneventfully" at London Heathrow (LHR).
• Actually arrive 27 minutes ahead of schedule.

Investigating the Cause

The stray wheel was quickly recovered from the airfield in Las Vegas, with airport officials confirming no injuries or property damage occurred on the ground. British Airways released a statement following the landing, emphasizing that "safety and security underpins everything we do" and confirming they are cooperating with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for a full investigation.

This incident adds to a string of recent landing gear mishaps across the industry, including a United Airlines nose wheel detachment in Orlando earlier this month.