San Francisco:

Lawsuits are flying in a dispute between two California airports over the right to use the name “San Francisco” — despite neither of them being in the city.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is suing the recently renamed San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport (OAK), insisting the similar sounding names might confuse potential passengers.

Their lawsuit has been met with a counterclaim from The Port of Oakland asking a judge to rule its airport’s new moniker — which replaced “Metropolitan Oakland International Airport” — is not a copyright infringement.

“Changing ‘Metropolitan’ to ‘San Francisco Bay’ in Oakland Airport’s name accurately describes OAK’s geographic location on the Bay and presents the airport as an additional choice for travel into the San Francisco Bay Area,” said port attorney Mary Richardson on Thursday, announcing the lawsuit.

The San Francisco city attorney’s decision to pursue litigation “is an attempt to stop consumer education, prevent expanded air travel options for Bay Area residents and visitors, and is a misguided use of San Francisco taxpayer dollars,” she added.

The legal turbulence began in April when officials in San Francisco sued for copyright infringement, claiming the name change was a customer grab and an effort to poach business.

“The Metropolitan Oakland International Airport seeks to increase passengers and profits by rushing to unlawfully incorporate San Francisco International Airport’s trademarked name into its own,” the suit says.

Passengers could easily mix up the two destinations, the suit says, and end up stranded.

“The potential for confusion will be particularly acute for international travelers who may not speak or read English,” it says.

“Travelers will very likely be confused and book tickets to the unintended airport, thinking that the ‘San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport’ is SFO and arrive in the wrong place, a mistake leading to missed flights and connections, among other problems.”

Despite the lawsuit, officials in Oakland voted unanimously to adopt the new name on Thursday, in a move that will not affect the “OAK” designation used on baggage tags.

The two airports sit just 10 miles (16 kilometers) apart, on opposite sides of San Francisco Bay.

Neither of them is actually in San Francisco — SFO is in San Mateo County while OAK is in Oakland.

Both airports are a 20-40 minute taxi ride to downtown San Francisco.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Damaged cars are seen in an on-airport employee parking lot after tire debris from a Boeing 777 landed on them at San Francisco International Airport, Thursday, March 7, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

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

Video shows the plane losing one of the six tires on its left-side main landing gear assembly seconds after takeoff. The tire landed in an employee parking lot at San Francisco International Airport, where it smashed into a car and shattered its back window before breaking through a fence and coming to stop in a neighboring lot.

No one was injured, airport spokesman Doug Yakel said in a statement.

Fire engines stood by at Los Angeles International Airport but weren’t needed, as the Boeing 777 made an uneventful landing and stopped about two-thirds of the way down a runway. Airport spokesman Dae Levine said the plane landed safely.

It was then towed away.

The flight carried 235 passengers and a crew of 14, United said. The airline said that the plane, built in 2002, was designed to land safely with missing or damaged tires. The passengers will be moved to another plane for the rest of the trip, United said.

Boeing 777s have six tires on each of the two main landing gears. Video of Flight 35 departing shows the plane losing one of the six tires on its left-side main landing gear assembly seconds after takeoff.

‘Rare instance’

Aviation experts said planes losing tires is a rare occurrence and not indicative of a larger safety issue.

“In aviation, we never want to have single points of failure if they can be avoided, and this is a case in point,” said Alan Price, a former chief pilot for Delta Air Lines.

“The remaining tires are fully capable of handling the load,” he added.

Price said a loose tire is normally a maintenance issue and not a problem created by the manufacturer.

John Cox, a retired pilot and professor of aviation safety at the University of Southern California, agreed. “I don’t see any impact for Boeing as it was a United maintenance team that changed the tire,” he said.

The Federal Aviation Administration will investigate, spokesman Tony Molinaro said.

Los Angeles, United States:

A Boeing 777 jetliner bound for Japan had to make an emergency landing shortly after takeoff Thursday, after a wheel fell off and plunged into an airport parking lot.

Video posted online shows the wheel dropping seconds after the United Airlines plane gets off the ground at San Francisco International Airport.

The wheel bounced into a car park used by airport employees, the local KRON4 outlet reported, with airport officials saying several cars were damaged.

United flight UA35 diverted to Los Angeles today after losing a wheel on takeoff Via @FlightEmergency

View #UA35‘s data at
https://t.co/F63EfWkMANpic.twitter.com/0bSSQE6UKu

— RadarBox (@RadarBoxCom) March 7, 2024

United Airlines said there were 249 people on board the Osaka-bound jet.

Boeing has faced a series of quality control issues, most recently in a hair-raising incident in January when a door-sized panel of a Boeing 737 Max 9 blew off the fuselage after the plane took off in Portland, Oregon.

No one was seriously hurt in the incident, which triggered a 19-day emergency grounding of all Boeing 737 Max 9s.  

US regulators last week gave Boeing 90 days to come up with a plan addressing quality control issues, with the FAA chief saying the company must “commit to real and profound improvements.”

The Boeing 777 has six wheels on each of its main landing struts and is designed to land safely if some are missing or damaged, United said.

The flight was diverted to Los Angeles where it landed safely.

Passengers were expected to be on their way again later Thursday, the airline said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)