Part of Delta Air Lines 737’s wing breaks off during flight
The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a flap on a Boeing 737’s wing partially broke off before landing in Texas on Tuesday.
A still from a video taken aboard a Delta flight, on August 19, shows a flap dangling behind a wing of the plane. (Photo credit: Shanila Arif via CNN Newsource)
(CNN) — The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a flap on a Boeing 737’s wing partially broke off before landing in Texas on Tuesday.
Delta Air Lines Flight 1893 was flying from Orlando International to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport when passengers noticed something had partially broken away from the back of the wing.
“We felt it was bad turbulence. The plane was shaking,” passenger Shanila Arif told CNN. “The lady in front of us opened the window and told us it is broken. I opened the window and got scared.”
Video recorded by Arif showed the flap dangling behind the wing, as the plane flew at hundreds of miles an hour thousands of feet in the air.
She worried if the piece completely broke off it could hit the tail of the aircraft and cause a crash.
After landing “it was observed that a portion of the left wing’s flap was not in place,” Delta Air Lines said in a statement. “The aircraft has been taken out of service for maintenance.”
Flaps are surfaces on the back of the wing designed to be extended for takeoff and landing.
“We apologize to our customers for their experience as nothing is more important than the safety of our people and customers,” the airline said.
There were 62 passengers and six crew members onboard the plane. No one was injured.
Delta pledged to fully cooperate with the FAA investigation.
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