Don't Worry, These Babies Have TWO Wings

A passenger barely makes his connection after another "weather-related event." (right)




I don't know how much weirder air travel can become in this memorable Summer of 2007. Have a look at the following report on a two-foot-long wing section that fell off a Northwest Airlines DC9 into somebody's back yard. The flight was later grounded, but Northwest said the missing wing chunk was "not a safety issue."

"McFARLAND, Wis. (AP) - A southeastern Wisconsin family found what appeared to be a piece of a Northwest Airlines plane in their back yard.

'I was coming out with the laundry basket to hang my laundry, and I noticed ... a large, large piece of metal in my yard,' Judy St. Clair told WISC-TV in Madison. 'I thought, Oh, my goodness. That looks like an airplane wing. But I thought, How can that be?'

The two-foot-long chunk of metal tore through the branches of the ash tree in her back yard.

St. Clair said she turned it over to McFarland authorities, who alerted the Federal Aviation Administration.

WISC-TV confirmed with Northwest Airlines that after Flight 1449 from Detroit landed in Madison at 9:21 a.m. Wednesday, an inspection revealed a missing flap. The DC-9's return flight to Detroit was grounded.

The airline said it was investigating. 'The approximate 2-foot-long piece used to reduce drag was not a flight safety issue,' airline spokesman Dean Breest said.

Northwest said it wanted to make sure the found part was from its plane before commenting further."

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