A flap from a Delta plane’s wing dropped into a North Carolina driveway mid-flight. The plane landed safely. The flap, not so much.
Special Delivery, From 30,000 Feet
Imagine stepping outside for your morning coffee, only to find a large piece of aircraft hardware casually lying on your driveway. That’s what happened this week in Raleigh, North Carolina, when a homeowner discovered what turned out to be a wing flap from a Delta Airlines Boeing 737.
No, it wasn’t drone delivery gone rogue. It was part of Delta Flight 3247, which had just flown from Atlanta to Raleigh with 109 passengers and six crew on board.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737‑900ER, departed Atlanta around 11:06 p.m. on July 1 and safely landed at Raleigh‑Durham Airport at about 1:15 a.m. on July 2.
The Plane? Landed Just Fine.
Despite dropping a piece of its wing somewhere over the suburbs, the aircraft landed safely and, according to Delta, the pilots didn’t even know anything had come off.
Turns out, this missing piece was a trailing-edge flap — a movable part of the wing that helps control lift during takeoff and landing. Planes are built with a lot of backup systems, and losing one flap doesn’t necessarily mean an emergency. It is only after landing that the ground staff discovered part of the left wing’s trailing-edge flap was missing
In fact, this kind of failure might not even trigger an alert in the cockpit. Which explains why the crew had no clue… and why a North Carolina driveway got the surprise instead.
Is This Normal?
Let’s be clear: this shouldn’t happen. But very occasionally, it does. In recent years, we’ve seen emergency slides, cowlings, and other aircraft parts go rogue mid-air.
While falling aircraft parts are rare, they can pose serious risks to people and property on the ground and, in some cases, to the aircraft itself. In every instance, the FAA gets involved, and airlines are required to investigate, inspect, and, if necessary, revise maintenance procedure
Delta says it’s fully cooperating with the FAA investigation, and the aircraft has been taken out of service.
No one was hurt. The plane landed without issues. The flap has since been recovered from the driveway.
Should You Worry Next Time You Fly?
Nope. Air travel remains incredibly safe. Commercial planes are built to keep flying even when something goes wrong. Pilots train extensively for mechanical issues, and aviation safety procedures are some of the strictest in the world.
So yes, while the image of a wing part dropping into a driveway is dramatic (and kind of surreal), it’s also extremely rare.
For the Homeowner, One Heck of a Story
As for the Raleigh resident who found the flap? They weren’t injured – just probably very confused. No word yet on whether Delta offered frequent flyer miles, a new mailbox, or complimentary flap retrieval.
But one thing’s for sure: when you say your neighborhood is “under the flight path,” this isn’t usually what you mean.
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