Wing flap found in North Carolina driveway after separating from Delta Air Lines flight
The wing came from an aircraft operated by Delta Air Lines that was landing hours before this unexpected discovery.
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Delta Flight 3247 had taken off from Atlanta just after 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday night, data from FlightAware indicates. The Boeing 737-900ER, which had 109 passengers and six crew members on board, ultimately landed safely at Raleigh Durham International Airport at approximately 1:15 a.m. — albeit missing part of its wing flap.
Hours later, officers with the Raleigh Police Department responded to a call from residents in Raleigh who discovered the wing flap blocking part of the driveway. Initial findings revealed that it did indeed belong to Delta Flight 3247.
There were no reports of injuries or property damage.
A Delta spokesperson later confirmed a portion of the left wing's trailing edge flap separated before landing.
'Delta is fully supporting retrieval efforts and will cooperate with investigations as nothing is more important than safety,' the spokesperson said.
Aviation Lawyer James Crouse, after seeing initial photos of the wing flap, said he did not think the plane's safety was compromised.
'Even if it came off a smaller aircraft — which was my first thought — it being a flap, as opposed to another control service … I don't think it would affect the safety of the aircraft and landing,' Crouse, who has over 40 years of experience, told Nexstar's WNCN.
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Crouse says he's aware more people are on edge these days about flying, considering the recent incidents this year.
'I don't think anything is increasing,' he said. 'Perhaps more people are flying their own aircraft these days, but I think the level of maintenance, level of design, level of construction, is probably good as it's always been, maybe better.'
The wing flap was collected from the driveway around 12:30 Wednesday afternoon. The Federal Aviation Administration is now leading the investigation to determine how it came off the aircraft.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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