Denver

Plane Fuel Cap Falls From Sky, Nearly Missing Driver

The incident happened in Newport Beach in December

It fell from the sky and hit a car.

A fuel hatch from a United Airlines Airbus dropped from the sky and onto a car, slicing the hood, and missing the driver by inches in Newport Beach. The driver was not injured.

The incident happened near Park and Diamond avenues as the plane left John Wayne Airport in December. The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating why the Denver-bound plane dropped a part on take off and are also talking to the person who fueled the aircraft.

City officials just settled a lawsuit forcing the FAA to keep the current flight path, rather than fly in a wide swath over Newport Beach.

"The flight patterns follow historic patterns of the bay, versus picking brand-new patterns that might impact more communities, more residential areas," said Newport Beach City Manager Dave Kiff.

On Balboa Island that means what's up in the air now will continue to be there for years to come.

The plans to reach out to the various airline carriers and ask them to start flying higher on take off which might make it quieter.

One resident compared it to a lighting striking and it won't happen again.

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