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

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.