The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating after a flap on a Boeing 737’s wing partially broke off before landing in Texas on Tuesday.
Delta Air Lines Flight 1893 was flying from Orlando International to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport when passengers noticed something had partially broken away from the back of the wing.
The airline said in a statement, "After landing it was observed that a portion of the left wing’s flap was not in place. The aircraft has been taken out of service for maintenance. We apologize to our customers for their experience as nothing is more important than the safety of our people and customers.”
The Boeing 737-800 (registration N3740C) involved in the Delta Flight 1893 incident was first delivered to Delta Air Lines on December 19, 2000. It was briefly operated by WestJet in 2002 before returning to Delta.
The Boeing 737-800 is a stretched version of the 737-700. It replaced the 737-400 and competes primarily with the Airbus A320. The 737-800 seats 162 passengers in a two-class layout or 189 passengers in a one-class layout. The 737-800 was launched on September 5, 1994.
"The plane, carrying 62 passengers and six crew members, landed safely at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport at 2:24 p.m. CDT with no injuries."
THUS:
THE FLIGHT WAS @ 38.2% CAPACITY WITH 100 EMPTY SEATS and the stress was such that a wing fap broke-off???
