Delta jet lands safely after panel falls off
By Ken Leiser
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Wednesday, Jul. 16 2008

ST. LOUIS — A cone-shaped panel the size of a small wastebasket fell off a Delta Air Lines jet that was having engine trouble shortly after its Tuesday morning takeoff from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport, officials said.

The debris landed on a road in St. Charles County — taking a chunk out of the pavement — but nobody was injured and no other property was damaged on the ground, according to airline and Federal Aviation Administration officials.

The cone-shaped metal panel apparently came off the plane's engine. The FAA described it as an 18-by-20-inch tail cone.

FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said Delta Flight 989 was bound for Atlanta when the pilot heard a loud bang and one of the engines shut down after takeoff about 6:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The MD-88 carrying 114 passengers and five crew members returned to Lambert and landed normally...