Nov 6, 2009 11:58 pm US/Eastern
20-Pound Delta Jet Part Falls On Long Island Lawn
Pilots On Airplane Bound For Tokyo From Kennedy Airport Had No Idea Cone-Shaped Hunk Of Metal Had Come Loose
By KATHRYN BROWN, CBS 2 HD News
ROOSEVELT, N.Y. (CBS) ―
-
-
A resident on Long Island came out of his home and found this 20-pound tail cone from a Delta Airlines jet on his lawn. The piece apparently fell off the plane bound for Tokyo from Kennedy Airport.
CBS
This time of year, it's leaves in the yard -- not breakaway plane parts. But one Long Island homeowner found something too big to rake up.
An engine tail cone popped off a Delta jet and plummeted to the ground below.
That falling chunk of metal caused quite a scared. A huge piece of an airplane broke off in mid-air and plummeted from the sky, landing in a Nassau County family's front yard.
The tail cone fell off the Boeing 777 shortly after taking off from Kennedy International Airport and landed squarely in Michelle Russell's front yard.
"It's really spooky to think something could fall out of the sky," Russell said.
But it did fall ... and crash-landed near the driveway, shearing off trees and narrowly missing Russell's car.
Some in the neighborhood saw it as omen.
"Well I'm hoping it's a sign of blessings coming from heaven," said Roosevelt resident Rev. Al Henry.
Delta Flight 799 was en route from New York to Tokyo when the engine tail cone fell off in mid-air. Weighing 20 pounds and sitting 4 feet long and made of metal, it was a most unwelcome intruder at the Russell's home.
"I'm a firm believer if you take off with something you should land with the same parts you took off with," Russell said.
The tail cone sits just behind the engine. It is designed to decrease fuel consumption and increase engine efficiency.
Delta officials said it is not essential to flight, and that neither the pilots nor the passengers noticed anything was wrong until the plane landed in Japan.
None of that is consolation to the Russells.
"It could've come through the top of the car. We could've been pulling in when it came down. It could've hit us," Russell said.
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident and Delta is currently inspecting each of its eight 777 planes that are identical to the one involved.
"I'm a little nervous now because you think you're safe in your home. People don't want to fly. You don't have to fly to get hit by an airplane," resident Loretta Butler said.
The Roosevelt neighborhood where the Russells live is directly in the flight path of planes taking off and landing at JFK and LaGuardia airports.
From now on, when they see a plane overhead, they're going to look at it a bit differently.
A similar tail cone incident involving a 777 was reported in Japan back in 2005.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
World's Most Useless Facts
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments