Shocking moment British Airways plane loses wheel during takeoff at Las Vegas airport as tyre plunges to the ground

THIS is the shocking moment a plane’s wheel flies off during takeoff and is sent hurtling down to the ground.

A British Airways flight from Las Vegas to London got off to a concerning start with footage showing a rogue tyre flying off the packed passenger jet.

The plane managed to get off the ground from Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) on Monday at around 9pm.

Footage shows a mysterious object beginning to slide off the fuselage of the flight BA274 as it continues its ascent.

Within seconds it completely falls off the plane and begins hurtling towards the ground at speed.

Undeterred by the sky-high mishap, the plane continued on its route unaffected and safely landed at London Heathrow some time later.

It was later confirmed that one of the main landing gear wheels had flung off the aircraft and landed in an LAS airfield.

No one was injured on the ground.

LAS confirmed the incident as they said in a statement: “Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) is aware of an incident involving a British Airways aircraft that departed LAS last night and continued on to London.

“The tyre was retrieved from the LAS airfield. There were no reported injuries or damage to airport property.

“The National Transportation Safety Board has been notified.”

The plane’s main landing gear uses six wheels arranged into three pairs.

This means that the loss of a single wheel had little impact on the pilot’s ability to perform a routine landing.

British Airways told The Sun: “Safety and security underpins everything we do and we’re supporting the authorities with their investigations.”

The incident comes just days after a packed United plane’s nose wheel detached during a hard landing at Orlando airport. 

A wheel could be seen rolling along the tarmac moments after the jet touched down in the Florida city. 

The United jet seemed to bounce on the runway before appearing to tilt downwards as pilots frantically tried to stabilize the plane. 

Last week, footage captured the terrifying moment flames shot out of a plane wing before the aircraft skidded off the runway.

Dramatic footage showed sparks flying out of the Boeing 747 with 388 people on board as it attempted to set off from a Russian airport.