Long Island Man Believes Aircraft Part Fell From Sky Into His Backyard
STEWART MANOR, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- What is believed to be a piece of an aircraft was found Friday in a backyard in Stewart Manor, Long Island.
As CBS 2's Jennifer McLogan reported, Lee Ackerman was wondering if the plane part came hurtling down from one of the many aircraft that traverse Nassau County each day.
"I came walking right through here and found it in the middle of my ferns, right there. I didn't at first know what it was at first, you know, it was black and multicolored, and I picked it up and realized what it was," Ackerman said.
Ackerman said he and his neighbors were fortunate that they were not clobbered on the head by the piece of metal with text and diagrams printed on it, and the logo for aircraft wing strut parts manufacturer Goodrich.
"It is this sheet metal that apparently came off an Airbus 380 – it's labeled as a 380. It's the wing strut maintenance for an Airbus 380, and it's got part numbers, pressure numbers, temperature numbers on it, and I don't know how it got under the tree and in the ferns and tucked in under there. My best guess is it hit the roof and slid off," Ackerman said.
Ackerman was out for a morning walk, and he said when he left, his garden was empty. When he got back, he spotted the aluminum stamped metal piece – measuring about 12 inches by 11 inches.
Ackerman's street sits directly under the flight path of John F. Kennedy International Airport, WCBS 880's Ginny Kosola reported.
Depending on winds, planes can pass overhead every three minutes.
"I'm very fortunate that nobody was hit," he said.
Ackerman said he turned over the aircraft part to Nassau County police. CBS 2 spoke Friday afternoon to the Federal Aviation Administration, which said it will examine the piece of metal and will launch an immediate investigation if it did indeed come from an aircraft.
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