Heathrow cargo plane incident: missing wing panel found after two months
A wing panel lost from a One Air Boeing 747-400 freighter was found near Heathrow Airport’s runway 27L after two months of searching. The incident has reignited discussions about aircraft structural integrity and runway safety protocols, following Boeing’s earlier warnings about similar issues
Researchers in the United Kingdom have revealed details of an incident involving a trailing-edge wing panel that detached from a One Air Boeing 747-400 freighter. The panel, discovered near runway 27L at Heathrow Airport after a two-month search, has raised concerns about structural integrity and safety protocols.
Measuring about one meter in length, the panel was part of the upper surface of the aircraft’s left wing, next to the outboard aileron. It was reported missing upon the aircraft's arrival at Heathrow on January 6 of last year, according to the aviation outlet Aeroin.
The incident highlights potential vulnerabilities in the aircraft's structure. A 2010 Boeing service letter had already warned that cracks in trailing-edge ribs could lead to similar panel damage. The letter noted that such fractures could result in partial detachment during flight but emphasized that this was “not considered safety-related” and would not significantly impact the aircraft’s controllability.
Following this classification, One Air recorded the event as a regulatory occurrence but did not report it to the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB).
Airports like Heathrow rely on systems to detect foreign objects on runways, yet the panel likely fell during landing into a grass area about 600 meters from the runway edge, beyond detection zones.
The aircraft, identified as G-UNET, was the first introduced by One Air, a UK-based cargo airline that began operations six months before the incident. Boeing informed British investigators of 10 previous panel detachment cases, stating that these events were unlikely to cause harm. The manufacturer emphasized that runway debris detection, combined with airport safety measures and aircraft design standards, mitigates associated risks.
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