The Boeing 737-800 with registration ZS-FGE, operated by Fly Safair, lost the left main landing gear wheel during take-off from Johannesburg Airport on April 21, 2024. The incident was observed by the controllers.

It was supposed to be a routine domestic flight from Johannesburg to Cape Town. The Boeing 737-800 initially took off completely inconspicuously, but then the outer left wheel of the main landing gear said goodbye. This has fallen off. The incident was observed by the responsible air traffic controller, who immediately informed the pilots that the wheel had been lost.

The captain decided that the climb would be aborted immediately. At this point, the medium-range jet was at an altitude of approximately 22.000 feet. Initially we went into a holding pattern because the next steps had to be evaluated. There is no risk at all in such incidents in the air. The landing was tricky, however, and it was precisely for this that the captain and his first officer had to rely on the help of air traffic control in order to make the right decisions.

As is usual in such cases, the ZS-FGE initially flew past the tower at a low altitude so that the air traffic controllers, also with the help of binoculars, could see the damage in order to provide the pilot with important information that would enable the extent to be better assessed can. This enabled the captain to select the right procedure for a safe landing and the aircraft touched down safely at Johannesburg Airport around 190 minutes after take-off.

It is possible that some things in the landing gear area were bent during landing, but this is damage that can be repaired quite easily. The Civil Aviation Authority of South Africa has already announced that it has opened an investigation. Air accident investigators are tasked with finding out why the wheel came loose during takeoff. There is currently no information on this.