The Delta Air Lines-operated flight was coming from Paris, France, and was bound for Boston Logan International Airport when the incident occurred on Sunday. No one was injured by the falling object.
“If it had hit us, we would have been dead - it’s that heavy,” Milton resident Stephanie Leguia, whose backyard is where the evacuation slide landed, told the Boston Herald. “And if we didn’t die - I hate to think of the alternative.”
Leguia was standing in her neighbor’s backyard when she witnessed the 6-foot evacuation slide falling onto her property. She and her neighbor called the police after the incident, who confirmed, upon inspection, that the object was an emergency evacuation slide. Delta maintenance crews have since removed the slide from Leguia’s backyard.
Massachusetts Port Authority spokesperson Jennifer Mehigan confirmed that the slide detached from the wing of the Delta plane, also noting that the flight landed at Logan International Airport safely.
Both Delta and the FAA are currently investigating the incident.
“Incidents like this one are extremely rare and we are thankful that no one was injured. Delta, in conjunction with the FAA, will be doing a full investigation into what happened,” Mehigan said.
“The pilot of Delta Air Lines Flight 405, a Boeing 767, reported a loud noise as the aircraft was on approach to Boston Logan International Airport shortly before noon today. Workers inspected the aircraft after landing and discovered that the right rear evacuation slide was missing,” the FAA said in a statement.
Airplane parts detach and fall from the sky more frequently than one would think.
In fact, according to Air Space Magazine, such incidents happen so often that Pilots of America and other members of the aviation safety community refer to the phenomena as “things falling off aircraft” or “TFOA.”