A METAL jet panel found in a field by a dog walker has sparked a safety probe amid fears it fell from the sky.
The tray-sized object appears to have come from a Boeing aircraft and turned up in a grass field five miles from East Midlands airport.
It is the latest incident to hit Boeing after a series of parts have fallen off their aircraft in mid-air.
Finder Chris Dawson, 56, who was walking cocker spaniel Charlie under the flight path, says the panel would have killed anyone it struck.
He tried to alert authorities, but after struggling to raise the alarm he contacted The Sun and we notified aviation bosses.
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Chris said: “This could have had a devastating impact had it fallen in a residential area. Anyone underneath would have died instantly.
“It’s staggering that a part of a plane could just drop from the sky, particularly in light of all the safety issues around Boeing jets recently.”
The dad of two, from Sutton Bonington, Notts, said: “We walk the same path various times a week and there are no tractors or machinery nearby, so it could only have fallen from the sky. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
The faulty panel’s markings show it was made by aircraft parts maker Asian Composites Manufacturing in Malaysia in 2013.
Last night, Boeing refused to reveal the model of plane it fell from or the airline.
It said: “This appears to be a small access panel from an older generation aircraft. We’ll defer to the carrier for information about their operations, and to the CAA and local authorities for any other information.”
Tendai Mutambirwa, of the Civil Aviation Authority, told us: “We are aware of this and are currently looking into the situation closely.”
Boeing has been under scrutiny following a mid-air cabin blow-out in January.
Other recent issues include an engine cowling falling off during take-off in the US last month.
Two crashes involving its jets in 2018 and 2019 killed 346 people.
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