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Jul 8, 2008 10:16 pm US/Central
Mystery Surrounds Crumpled Nose Of NWA Plane
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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According to the FAA, the dent is an "internal structural failure."
CBS
The Federal Aviation Administration continues to investigate a mysterious dent that suddenly showed up on a Northwest Airlines plane earlier this week.
According to the FAA, the dent is an "internal structural failure." Earlier, authorities said they suspected the damage had been done by a bird, but the FAA said the damage occurred at 18,000 feet, which would be too high in altitude for birds.
Also, no bird debris was located on the plane.
The plane, Flight 478 from Detroit, landed in Tampa. The FAA says the flight crew reported hearing a loud noise, and then lost control of their radar.
The plane's radar was damaged in the incident, and the FAA said the dent, with damage they compared to a car crash, could pose a threat to the integrity of the plane.
Northwest has ruled out any weather conditions like lightening or hale as a cause. And while the planes radar was disabled the pilot didn't tell passengers about the problem until after he landed the plane safely at the Tampa airport.
Northwest Vice President Tammy Lee said passengers were never in any danger.
"The nose cone has already been replaced so that cone is being looked at as we speak. We're working with the FAA and the airplane manufacturer to determine what the cause is and that could actually take several weeks," said Lee.
Lee said the incident is so rare the airline is not worried about it happening to other aircraft.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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