Plane panel falls from sky onto US mall parking lot

MIAMI, Feb 5, 2010 (AFP) - A car-sized panel from a cargo jet fell out of the sky Friday and crashed into a mall parking lot in the US state of Florida, startling shoppers but causing no injuries or damage, the airline said.

Federal authorities and Atlas Air Inc were investigating why the 150-pound (68-kilo) canoe-shaped fairing detached from the wing of a Boeing 747 cargo plane as it approached Miami International Airport at the end of a flight from Santiago, Chile.

The plane had no problems landing, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. And while no one was injured in the incident, it could have been deadly.

"We'll look into every aspect of this situation to determine why it happened," FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. "We'll examine the part, the aircraft and its maintenance records."

The Atlas jet was about 2.5 miles (four kilometers) from the airport at an altitude of 1,500 feet (450 meters) when the fiberglass panel fell from the plane's flap assembly at about 11:35 am. Flaps, when extended, help a plane slow down.

The panel crashed to the ground between two empty parking spaces at the Miami International Mall in Doral.

"The plane landed safely at MIA and we understand no one was injured and that there was no property damage," Atlas, one of the world's largest freight transport companies, said in a statement.

"Atlas is grateful that no one was injured and is investigating the matter further."

Pieces rarely fall off flying jets, but such incidents do happen.

On July 25, 2000 a strip of metal fell from a Continental plane onto the runway at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport.

Shortly afterward an Air France supersonic Concorde jet rolled over the part, ruptured a fuel tank and burst into flames, killing all 109 people on board and four workers on the ground.


by Simon Sturdee
© 2010 AFP

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