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Wing panel falls off Boeing plane at Heathrow; discovered two months later

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Wing panel falls off Boeing plane at Heathrow; discovered two months later
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Airbus A380 | Airbus

A wing panel from a Boeing 747 freighter was found in a grassy area near London Heathrow Airport's Runway 27, more than two months after it detached. The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) reported that the panel belonged to a One Air 747-400 freighter, which landed at Heathrow on January 6, 2024.

The flight crew initially did not notice the missing panel until turnaround inspections before departure. The AAIB suggests the detachment likely occurred post-touchdown when spoilers were deployed. "Due to fatigue cracking of its supporting rib," the report explains, noting Boeing had issued guidance in 2010 on preventing such cracks.

Boeing assesses that a detached wing panel poses minimal risk to flight safety but acknowledges the potential for creating runway foreign object debris (FOD). However, existing airport FOD detection systems mitigate this risk. Heathrow's radar system scans only hard surfaces, explaining why the grass-located panel went unnoticed during winter when mowing was less frequent.

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Globally, according to a Federal Aviation Administration briefing in 2018, only 21 airports have similar FOD detection systems capable of handling Boeing 747 landings. Not all such airports are equipped with these systems.

One Air filed a Mandatory Occurrence Report with the Civil Aviation Authority but did not report to AAIB as per Boeing's service letter indicating no safety concern for this part's detachment. The aircraft involved is a converted freighter originally used by Air Canada and now operated by British cargo carrier One Air since July 2023.

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