Wheel flies off United Airlines Boeing 757 during takeoff from Los Angeles, just one day after the aviation giant agreed to a $243.6 million settlement for deadly plane crashes

A United Airlines Boeing jet lost a landing gear wheel during takeoff from Los Angeles on Monday.

The Boeing 757-200 was carrying 174 passengers and seven crew members when it departed from LAX.

The plane continued safely to Denver, where it landed safelyaccording to the airline.

There were no injuries on the ground or on board Flight 1001, United said in a statement.

“The wheel has been recovered in Los Angeles and we are investigating what caused this incident,” the statement said.

A United Airlines Boeing jet lost a main landing gear wheel during takeoff from Los Angeles on Monday (file photo)

The incident bears a striking resemblance to one that occurred in March, when a United Boeing 777-200 jet lost a tire, this time after takeoff from San Francisco (pictured above).

The 256-pound wheel crushed cars where it landed after falling from the plane to the ground

The incident bears a striking resemblance to one that occurred in March, when a United Boeing B777-200 jet lost a tire, this time after takeoff from San Francisco.

It landed on a car in an airport staff parking lot.

It comes just one day after the company announced it plans to plead guilty to fraud in connection with the approval of its 737 Max, before two of the planes crashed, killing 346 people off the coast of Indonesia and in Ethiopia.

The US aerospace giant has apparently calculated that it is better to confess to a crime than to fight the charges and endure a lengthy public trial.

In a legal document filed late Sunday night, minutes before the midnight deadline, the Justice Department made the agreement public and said the fraud charge was “the most serious, readily provable offense” that could be brought against Boeing.

Rescue workers work at the scene of an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing Max crash in March 2019

With protesters in the audience, Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun testifies before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs at the Capitol in Washington last month.

Prosecutors said Boeing must pay an additional $243.6 million in fines, equal to the fine the company paid in 2021 for the same crime.

The Justice Department says that if convicted of fraud, Boeing would be held liable for “false statements” the company made to regulators who certified the 737 Max in 2017.

The crashes occurred less than five months apart in 2018 and 2019.

The company remains under investigation over the explosion of a panel on an Alaska Airlines Max plane in January, increased scrutiny by the Federal Aviation Administration and allegations from current and former employees of poor workmanship and retaliation against whistleblowers.

Boeing’s settlement brings the total to $487.2 million, the Justice Department said, the maximum amount legally awarded for the fraud charge.

The agreement also requires the company to invest at least $455 million to improve safety.

Clariss Moore, the parent of Danielle, one of the victims of the Boeing 737 Max 8 crash in Ethiopia, holds her photo during a press conference on Capitol Hill last month

The settlement would not give the company immunity for other incidents, including a panel that blew a Max jetliner off the runway during an Alaska Airlines flight in January

The case will be heard under court supervision for three years, and the Justice Department will appoint an independent monitor to oversee Boeing’s compliance with the terms of the settlement agreement.

Boeing’s board of directors will also speak with the victims’ families.

Boeing never fully recovered from the crashes.

Following renewed investigations into the Alaska Airlines incident, the company placed no new orders for the Max in April and May.

The company is lagging even further behind European rival Airbus in the production and delivery of new aircraft, resulting in lower revenues.

All of this comes as Boeing searches for a new CEO to replace David Calhoun, who announced he will step down at the end of this year.