An investigation has been launched after part of an aircraft wing fell off and landed in a garden near Stansted Airport.

A BAA Stansted spokesman confirmed that pieces of metal flap from a Federal Express plane heading to the airport from Paris had landed in a garden in Thaxted just after 8.30pm on Wednesday, January 15, as the aircraft approached for landing.

A team from the airport was sent to the scene to clear the debris and a full runway inspection was carried out to ensure the safety of other aircraft using the airport. No-one was injured.

The spokesman said: "Stansted Airport handles over 170,000 aircraft movements a year and has no record of an incident of this nature happening before, so it is very, very rare.

"However, we would like to reassure the local community that we are taking this incident very seriously and are working with Federal Express, the aircraft operator, the Department for Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority to investigate this matter further."

An Air Accident Investigation Bureau spokesman said investigators would be speaking to the pilot to try to establish whether he had experienced any difficulties and what had caused part of the wing to come off.

He added that a report into the accident would be published within the next few months.

January 27, 2003 16:00