It seems the sky is, quite literally, falling!
Early Wednesday morning, flaps from a Delta Air Lines aircraft unexpectedly dropped into a driveway in North Carolina.
A Delta representative noted that the pieces located in a residential area of Raleigh were associated with a Boeing 737 flight, which had been delayed while traveling from Atlanta to Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Tuesday evening.
Despite the incident, the flap, which had “clearly separated” from the left wing, did not affect the plane’s “safe landing” at Raleigh-Durham, according to a spokesperson.
The detached piece landed smack in the middle of a Tar Heel driveway, alarmingly close to a parked car.
Interestingly, the six crew members and the 109 passengers on board were completely unaware of the loss until they safely touched down around 1:15 a.m.
“After landing, it was observed that some of the trailing edge flaps on the left wing were missing. Delta is fully committed to supporting the search and will cooperate with the investigation—safety is our top priority,” stated the spokesperson.
These edge flaps are essential during takeoff and landing, as they help slow the aircraft and maintain its altitude. Passengers lucky enough to sit by the wing typically have a clear view of these mechanisms in action.
Interestingly, just last year, a separate Delta plane lost its emergency slide mid-flight, which later appeared in front of a beach house owned by an attorney involved in a significant lawsuit against Boeing concerning ongoing safety issues.
In September, a small aircraft also lost a door shortly after takeoff, though fortunately, there were no injuries, and the plane landed safely.
