Errant Jet Flap Sparks Inquiry

An American Airlines DC-10 remained grounded in Los Angeles Sunday while Federal Aviation Administration experts tried to learn why a large section of the jet’s wing flap tore off and fell to the ground as the plane approached Los Angeles International Airport.

The FAA said investigators were inspecting the jet’s left wing and had not determined a preliminary cause for the accident.

Donald Hanson, a spokesman for McDonnell Douglas Corp., the makers of the DC-10, said the incident over a residential neighborhood Saturday was “a very unusual thing to have happen.”

Russell Mack, director of public affairs for American Airlines, said he was not familiar with the jet’s maintenance history, but noted that “all our planes go through a regular schedule of maintenance, and I don’t think there’s any difference with this one.”