Wing flap from plane found in Raleigh driveway, FAA investigating link to Delta flight

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating after part of an airplane was found blocking a Raleigh driveway.

Around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Raleigh police officers responded to a home on Banbury Road, near Wade Avenue, where a 911 caller reported the airplane part was blocking a driveway.

The FAA confirmed that a wing flap from Delta flight 3247 that left Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport was missing upon landing at Raleigh-Durham International Airport. The agency is working to confirm the flap found in the driveway belongs to that plane. The flight arrived at RDU around 1:15 a.m. on Wednesday.

The flap is believed to have belonged to a Boeing 737. There were 109 passengers and six crew members on board.

"A portion of the left wing's trailing edge flap evidently separated from the aircraft prior to its safe landing," said Delta spokesperson Samantha Facteau.  "After the aircraft landed safely, it was observed that a portion of the left wing's trailing edge flap was not in place. Delta is fully supporting retrieval efforts and will cooperate with investigations as nothing is more important than safety."

There were no reports of injuries or property damage, and there was no evidence of a plane crash, according to Raleigh police.

"It's amazing when you consider it's such a dense neighborhood and people are out all the time," said Susan Reed, who works near the area where the part landed. "We really dodged a bullet on this one. Let's just hope it doesn't happen again."

The part was removed from the driveway around 12:30 p.m.

"You can land an aircraft with this component missing and land it safely," said James Crouse, a lawyer who specializes in aviation accidents.