Delta Air Lines Flight 982 was preparing to take off from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for a trip to Bogotá, Colombia when a "nose wheel came off and rolled down the hill," the agency said in a preliminary report.

The report said more than 170 passengers had to deplane, but no one was hurt. The FAA said it was continuing its investigation.

It's been a turbulent period for Boeing, plagued in recent years with safety concerns after deadly disasters. The manufacturer faces renewed scrutiny after a door plug blew off a new Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 plane at 16,000 feet on 5 January just after it took off from the Portland International Airport in Oregon.

No one was seriously injured then, but passengers were exposed to whipping winds on the plane's terrifying return to Portland. The FAA then ordered about 170 Boeing 737 Max 9 planes to be grounded in the United States until they could be inspected.

The plane that lost a wheel in Atlanta, a Boeing 757, is a different model which is probably not much comfort to those who are getting on Boeing planes at the moment. We guess they will be playing extra attention to the safety instructions.