By Joshua Fagan – Aviation Correspondent
5 February 2026
Late on Monday night an Airbus A350‑1000 carrying 300 passengers lifted off from Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas and headed for the runway’s dark horizon. Seconds later, sparks lit up the tarmac as one of the aircraft’s wheels tumbled to the ground.
Video captured by a plane‑spotting livestream shows the aircraft rotating normally before the right rear wheel on the right‑hand main landing gear separates from the bogie. The aircraft continued climbing, retracted its landing gear, and banked toward London, leaving the wayward wheel behind.
The flight, British Airways 274 bound for Heathrow, drew immediate attention from aviation enthusiasts and nervous flyers alike. Many online commenters wondered why the crew pressed on to London rather than returning to Las Vegas and whether a lost wheel could imperil a nine‑hour trans‑Atlantic crossing. The incident has since gone viral on social platforms, in part because dramatic video makes it look far more alarming than it was.
In this article I’ll break down what happened, why the crew’s decision was both measured and safe, and what this event tells us about modern aircraft design and airline safety culture.
What happened on take‑off
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the A350 lost a wheel at about 8:45 p.m. local time on 26 January as it departed from Las Vegas. A video shared by LAS Vegas Airport LIVE shows sparks around one of the aircraft’s tires as it rotates and begins to climb. A split second later, the wheel falls away; however, there were no injuries on the ground and the flight continued safely to London. British Airways confirmed that safety underpins everything it does and that it is supporting authorities with their investigation.
Flightradar24’s tracking report adds more detail: the aircraft, registration G‑XWBD, taxied from gate E1 to runway 26R at Las Vegas. About 40 seconds into the take‑off roll, sparks appeared from the right‑hand main gear, and as the gear was retracted the right‑rear wheel detached and fell away. Despite the missing wheel, the crew completed the climb-out and continued to London. Nine hours and seventeen minutes later the aircraft landed uneventfully at Heathrow.
Why the wheel fell off
Investigators have not yet released a final report. The FAA has opened an inquiry, and the UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is expected to work with authorities to understand the mechanical cause. Wheel separations are rare, but they can occur if the retaining nut is not torqued correctly during maintenance, if a bearing seizes and overheats, or if a stud fails. The A350‑1000’s landing‑gear bogie holds six wheels on each leg, arranged in three pairs. In this case the wheel that detached was the rear‑most, outboard wheel on the right‑hand gear.
Why the crew continued to London
From the outside, continuing a flight across the Atlantic with a missing wheel seems reckless. In reality, it reflects aviation’s emphasis on redundancy and risk management. The A350‑1000 is designed to carry more than 322 tonnes at take‑off; to spread this weight, each main landing gear has six wheels, while the smaller A350‑900 uses four. Losing one wheel on a six‑wheel bogie shifts the load to the other five when the aircraft next touches down. Engineers design the system to tolerate such an event without compromising braking or structural integrity.
During the climb, the crew would have assessed the aircraft’s handling and consulted operational checklists. The A350’s systems would register a tyre pressure or landing‑gear fault, but the aircraft still had 11 main wheels and two nose wheels in working order. The safest place to land a long‑range twin‑aisle jet is often the destination, where maintenance, equipment and staff can accommodate an unexpected wheel change and the aircraft can burn fuel to reduce landing weight.
Had there been any sign of further damage—such as a hydraulic leak, gear retraction problems or flight‑control anomalies—the crew would have diverted. Multiple passengers told reporters after arrival that they were unaware anything had happened until they saw the news later. Their calm experience underscores how routine such events are to trained crews and well‑designed aircraft.
The A350‑1000’s landing gear: built‑in redundancy
The wheel loss has sparked renewed interest in how modern wide‑body landing gear works. On the A350‑1000, each main landing gear strut supports three axles with a total of six wheels. When the landing gear is retracted after take‑off, each bogie folds into the bay, and snubbers (small brake pads) stop the wheels from spinning. The design must cope with extreme loads during landing while being light enough for efficient cruise flight.
Redundancy is a fundamental principle of aviation engineering: critical systems have backups, and the backups often have backups. That’s why the A350 has two engines, multiple hydraulic systems, triple‑redundant flight computers and, in this case, six wheels per bogie. Losing one wheel increases braking distance slightly and can lead to tyre‑wear imbalances, but certification tests show that the aircraft can stop safely with a wheel missing.
Aviation safety culture and how investigations improve it
Because no injuries occurred and the aircraft landed uneventfully, some might dismiss this as an overblown news story. That would be a mistake. Incidents like this are taken seriously because they reveal potential gaps in maintenance procedures or component manufacture. Investigators will look at when the wheel was last removed, whether the lock‑nut was properly torqued and cotter‑pinned, and if the wheel bearings were replaced on schedule. They will also examine the wheel hub for manufacturing defects and review British Airways’ maintenance records.
Findings from such investigations often lead to service bulletins or airworthiness directives, requiring checks across all airlines operating the type. That continuous improvement is why flying remains one of the safest modes of transport. Globally, tens of thousands of flights operate each day without incident.
Public reaction and media sensationalism
The viral video of the wheel falling off—and some breathless headlines—have fed fear and speculation online. But context matters. Modern jets are designed to cope with such problems, and highly trained crews follow strict procedures when something goes wrong. Aviation journalists have a responsibility to explain complex technical issues in plain language, to avoid sensationalism, and to highlight the layers of safety built into commercial flying. In interviews, passengers described an uneventful flight and normal landing.
It’s also worth noting that serious wheel failures are very rare. According to airline safety databases, the last comparable event on a wide‑body jet occurred in 2018 when a Boeing 777 lost a wheel on take‑off. In both cases the flights landed safely and investigators recommended additional inspections to prevent recurrence.
Why this story matters
Stories like BA274’s rogue wheel capture the public imagination because they mix drama with relief: something unexpected happens, yet everyone arrives safely. They also showcase the engineering excellence that underpins commercial aviation and the professionalism of crews who make split‑second decisions.
As the investigation unfolds, travellers can take comfort knowing that a single wheel falling off an A350 isn’t catastrophic. The aircraft’s design, the crew’s training and the industry’s commitment to safety meant that flight 274’s passengers arrived in London with little more than a story to tell their friends.
