|
 In fact, the 25-pound chunk was not a remnant of a UFO. It was from a commuter jet headed to Washington's Dulles International Airport.
The object landed in a grassy area between houses and soccer fields that often are full of children. No one was hurt, and the plane landed safely.
"We were all very lucky," said Loewenstein, who made the discovery Saturday. "It's so amazing that this piece of airplane didn't fall onto the zillions of houses right behind it."
United Express Flight 7350, which was traveling from Hartford, Conn., apparently shed the small door that retracts when the wheels emerge before landing, airline officials said.
"The landing gear door is not necessary to land the plane," United Airlines spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said. "Customers on the flight were always safe."
The Federal Aviation Administration was to pick up the piece of debris from police Monday and try to figure out why it fell off, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said.
"Various things fall off airplanes from time to time, but it's fairly unusual to have one of these landing-gear doors fall off," Brown said. "Airplanes are designed not to shed parts."
Although the debris wasn't from a UFO, Loewenstein said she wasn't too disappointed.
"We were very excited to find something like that in the town of Boyds, where nothing ever happens," she said.
___
Information from: The Washington Post,
http://www.washingtonpost.com/
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed. |
