[Stephen Brown]

Plane losing wheel a 'freak event'
July 8, 2008, 9:29 am

Regional Express Airlines says it will not conduct a detailed inspection of its aircraft fleet, despite a wheel falling off one of its planes.

An investigation has been launched into how a wheel detached from a plane flying between Orange, in central western New South Wales, and Sydney, on Sunday.

The aircraft was carrying 30 passengers and landed safely.

The airline's chief pilot, Chris Hine, says the incident was an isolated, freak event.

"Initial investigations appear to be it's not actually anything to do with the attachment of the wheel," he said.

"All that side of things was still intact, so there's nothing to suggest that we need to inspect anything, but our engineering department and quality assurance department are going through a complete investigation and they'll make some recommendations very shortly."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...07/2295936.htm