Part From Plane Lands in S.D. Yard

A 4-foot by 8-inch piece of fairing dropped from an unknown airplane into the yard of a Southeast San Diego home, police reported Saturday.

Duane Crawford, who lives in the 5200 block of Imperial Avenue, told officers he heard a loud “thump” Friday night. When he went into his backyard Saturday morning to investigate, Crawford discovered the piece of metal. Crawford summoned police who, in turn, called the Federal Aviation Administration.

James Pendergast, an FAA inspector in San Diego, said “it looks like a gray piece of fairing . . . but we don’t know if it’s from a civilian or a military aircraft.” (Fairings are panels used to smooth out an aircraft’s outline, thus reducing drag.)

“We’re not really excited . . . it’s not something that will hurt an aircraft by flying without it,” Pendergast said. “I don’t know if anyone (flying the plane) would miss it.”

The FAA checked with some airlines in San Diego, but none had detected any parts missing from their aircraft, he said. Next, the FAA will check with other airlines and the military to see whether any of them had planes flying in the Imperial Avenue vicinity at the time Crawford heard the thump.