Shoppers escape falling jet part

A car-sized panel from a cargo jet fell out of the sky on Friday and crashed into a mall car park in Florida, startling shoppers but causing no injuries or damage, the airline said.

Federal authorities and Atlas Air were investigating why the 68kg canoe-shaped fairing detached from the wing of a Boeing 747 cargo plane as it approached Miami International Airport at the end of a flight from Santiago, Chile. The plane had no problems landing, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said. And while no one was injured, it could have been deadly. "We'll look into every aspect of this situation to determine why it happened," FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. "We'll examine the part, the aircraft and its maintenance records."

The panel crashed to the ground between two empty parking spaces at Miami International Mall.

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