Part from KLM plane hits car in Osaka

September 24, 2017

OSAKA- A 4.3-kilogram part that dropped from a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines passenger airplane hit a moving car in the western Japan city of Osaka on Saturday, the transport ministry's West Japan Civil Aviation Bureau said Sunday.

The part struck the roof of the vehicle, but neither of its two occupants--the 51-year-old driver and the passenger--was hurt, Osaka prefectural police sources said.

The Japan Transport Safety Board will investigate the case as a serious incident.

The KLM Boeing 777-200 aircraft dropped a metal panel from around the base of its right main wing during an ascent after taking off from Kansai International Airport at 10:40 a.m. Saturday (1:40 a.m. GMT), according to the police and the bureau.

The plane is believed to have been flying at an altitude of more than 3,000 meters when the part fell off. After the incident, it flew to its destination, Amsterdam. None of its 320 passengers and crew members were injured. Jiji Press