Imagine that you are walking your dog an all of a sudden you come across a 12.5-inch by 11.5-inch metal plate that apparently fell from an airliner.
That’s what happened to Stewart Manor resident Lee Ackerman and he and his neighbors have every right to be concerned.
The metal plate, which weighs about a pound, bore a diagram of a landing strut and maintenance instructions for an A380, a plane large enough to carry 500 passengers.
If, as it appears, this plate fell from an airliner taking off from or landing at Kennedy Airport, it could have killed someone or done serious damage to a home or a car.
Fortunately it landed in a garden.
“It is what it is. It’s very disconcerting to have pieces of planes falling into your yard,” Ackerman said.
Apparently not to the execs at Airbus. The company issued a statement saying: “We are aware of reports that a placard from an aircraft was found on Long Island. Obviously, we do not know how the label came to be found in a garden.
“Once an aircraft is delivered to an airline, it becomes their property and maintenance of the aircraft is the responsibility of that airline. If authorities request help from us in any investigation, we would be pleased to assist.”
We suspect that Airbus knew within hours of learning of the plate what airline the plummeting part belongs to. The FAA says it’s “investigating the incident.”
Time’s up. Stop the foot dragging. The community deserves an answer and it deserves it now.
