United Airlines jet makes emergency landing after losing tyre on take-off

A United Airlines jetliner bound for Japan made a safe landing in Los Angeles on Thursday after losing a tyre while taking off from San Francisco.

Fire engines stood by at Los Angeles International Airport but were not needed, as the Boeing 777 made an uneventful landing.

Airport spokesman Dae Levine said the plane landed safely two-thirds of the way down a runway.

The flight was carrying 235 passengers and a crew of 14.

United Airlines said the plane, built in 2002, was designed to land safely with missing or damaged tyres.

Boeing 777s have six tyres on each of the two main landing gears.

Video of Flight 35 departing shows the plane losing one of the six tyres on its left-side main landing gear assembly seconds after take-off.

Tyre debris landed in an airport carpark at San Francisco International Airport.

No one was injured but a car was badly damaged.

The Federal Aviation Administration has launched an investigation into the incident.