United Airlines flight UA915, a Boeing 777, began taxiing towards holding point Y11 of runway 27L via taxiways A, N, and B at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). Around 10:59, a ground handler, stopped in a vehicle near parking area S31 to let the Boeing 777 pass, saw the fairing of the right main landing gear’s nose wheel detach. The fairing fell off and rolled to the left of taxiway A. Sparks and smoke appeared from the right nose wheel of the right main landing gear. The ground handler, whose vehicle was not equipped with a radio, followed the aircraft and asked another agent to inform air traffic control services. At 11:02:59, while the aircraft was on taxiway B, the ground controller informed the crew that they had been informed about a metal part left at their parking area. The controller also instructed the crew to turn left and stop. The crew did not understand the meaning of the Ground controller’s message. At 11:03:38, the SOL controller asked the crew to continue taxiing to holding point 27L and informed them that he would call them back to stop. The crew was uncertain whether they should continue taxiing to the 27L runway holding point or stop. At 11:04:11, as the aircraft turned left onto taxiway Y11 leading to the Y11 holding point of runway 27L, the SOL controller instructed the crew not to proceed to the holding point but to take the first taxiway. The PF then decided to turn onto taxiway Q. At 11:04:48, the co-pilot contacted the ground handling staff to try to gather more information. At 11:05:31, the crew of a Continental Air Lines B757, following the B777 during taxi, informed the Ground controller that a tire on one of the Boeing 777’s wheels had caught fire and requested assistance from the fire brigade. They also informed the B777 crew on the Ground frequency. At 11:06:12, the captain of the Boeing 777 ordered the evacuation. The aircraft was then located on taxiway Q at Y12. The 125 passengers and crew members evacuated through the slide rafts of the eight aircraft doors. Two cabin crew members were injured during the evacuation through door 2L. The intervention of the firefighters successfully extinguished the fire. An examination of the wheel and its components was conducted by Boeing. It showed that two identical bearings had been installed in the internal and external positions on the right main landing gear’s nose wheel. The wheel spindle of the Boeing 777 is conical, and the internal and external bearings are not interchangeable. The bearing installed in the external position was identified as an internal wheel bearing. It was not possible to identify how an internal bearing could have been installed in place of an external bearing.