United Airlines Boeing plane returns to Australia due to ‘maintenance issue’

Wheel falls off United Airlines plane during takeoff

A wheel fell off of a United Airlines flight taking off from San Francisco, damaging several cars below. KTVU's Amanda Quintana joined LiveNOW from FOX's Josh Breslow with the latest details.

On Monday, a United Airlines flight from Sydney, Australia had to return two hours into their flight to San Francisco, the latest incident affecting Boeing planes in recent weeks.

On March 11, the Boeing 777-300 aircraft, carrying 183 passengers, departed from Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport to San Francisco International Airport, but returned to Sydney due to a maintenance issue, United confirmed to FOX Television Stations.

"The plane landed safely and passengers deplaned normally at the gate," the airline said in a statement. "We are providing accommodation overnight for passengers and rebooking them to San Francisco tomorrow [Wednesday]."

United Airlines Boeing plane. (Credit: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The incident comes on the heels of other incidents that have occurred with the airline over the past week.

Last week, a wheel fell off a United Airlines flight taking off from San Francisco, damaging several cars below, while another flight had to make an emergency landing in Houston after flames were seen coming from one of its engines.

The U.S. aircraft manufacturer Boeing has also faced increased scrutiny following a Jan. 5 incident in which a door plug blew off a 737 Max 9 plane mid-flight, sparking fresh concerns about the certification of the already delayed MAX 10 model.

This story was reported from Los Angeles.