By Stephen Stirling
Hundreds of pieces of shrapnel rained down on a Flushing business Wednesday morning when a plane departing from LaGuardia Airport experienced engine failure, forcing it to make an emergency landing at JFK Airport, authorities said.
A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said American Airlines flight 309 to Chicago appears to have experienced “uncontained engine failure” shortly after taking off from LaGuardia Airport at 8:15 a.m., causing pieces of metal to shoot out of the back of the engine and onto the ground below.
“It appears all the pieces of metal that were dislodged all went out of the rear of the engine and did not pierce the fuselage as originally thought,” the spokesman said. “The pilot was then able to make a safe emergency landing at JFK a short time later.”
The Port Authority said no one was injured on the plane or on the ground, but the incident provided a scare for employees of Varsity Plumbing and Heating Inc. where the majority of the debris landed.
“We heard an explosion and then it sounded like something just dumping buckets of nuts and bolts on the roof. We knew it was a plane right away, my initial reaction was that there’s going to be a crash. There’s an explosion and there’s going to be a crash,” said Varsity Plumbing President Robert Bellini. “When we came out we expected to see something very bad — a plane in flames or something like that.”
Fortunately the debris only caused minor damage to the business, located at 31-99 123rd St. in the College Point Corporate Park, and a few cars in the surrounding parking lot. Walking around the roof of his business, Bellini pointed to dagger-like pieces of metal jutting out from the roof. On the ground, more than a dozen yellow circles marked where FAA officials cleared up pieces of metal while two cars had small holes in their rear windshields.
Rick Bellini, Robert’s brother, said the timing of the incident could not have been better, occurring during a 45-minute window between when the plumbing and heating supply company’s field workers and administrative employees typically come in to work.
“It happened at just the right time,” he said.
The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board said the investigation was ongoing.
Reach reporter Stephen Stirling by e-mail at Sstirling@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, ext. 138.
