An investigation was launched in an incident involving a Boeing 747-400 cargo plane that lost parts of its engine shortly after takeoff, the Dutch Security Council said.
Longtail Aviation flight 5504 filled the Dutch city of Meerssen with small pieces of metal that fell from the sky over properties and people shortly after leaving Maastricht airport for New York on Saturday.
Maastricht airport spokeswoman Hella Hendriks told Reuters: “The photos indicate they were parts of the engine’s blade, but this is being investigated.”
She added: “Several cars were damaged and pieces hit several houses. The pieces were found throughout the residential neighborhood on roofs, gardens and streets. ”
Ms Hendriks confirmed that at least dozens of pieces have fallen. The metal pieces apparently measured 5 cm wide and 25 cm long.
According to the official South Limburg security office, two people were injured by the wreckage and one had to be taken to the hospital. It looks like an old lady was injured.
Boeing said The Independent to forward any questions about the incident to the Dutch authorities.
A spokesman for the Netherlands Security Council said on Monday that the investigation “is still at a preliminary stage”, adding that it is still too early to draw any conclusions.
According to eyewitness reports, there was a visible fire in one of the plane’s engines. The plane managed to land safely at Belgium’s Liege airport, some 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of where it took off in Maastricht.
The cargo plane was powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines, a small version of United Airlines’ Boeing 777 engines that caught fire and dropped parts of the engine over Denver on Saturday.
The aircraft manufacturer has since recommended that all Boeing 777 models with Pratt & Whitney engines be landed, affecting 128 aircraft in total.
This came after a decision by Japanese safety regulators, which banned 777 aircraft with the same Pratt & Whitney 4000 engines. United Airlines said it had voluntarily suspended its fleet.