Part of a Delta plane's wing flap found on a driveway in Raleigh

Kelly Yamanouchi, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Jul 2, 2025

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ATLANTA — Part of a wing flap of a Delta Air Lines plane that departed from Atlanta late Tuesday was later found on a driveway in Raleigh, North Carolina, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

That part came from a Delta Boeing 737-900ER that landed safely at 1:15 a.m. Wednesday at Raleigh-Durham International Airport.

Atlanta-based Delta informed the FAA that an inspection after landing revealed the part — a portion of the left wing’s trailing edge flap — “was not in place,” according to Delta and the FAA.

Flight 3247 had flown from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to Raleigh. There were 109 passengers and six crew members on board.

The FAA is investigating the incident.

“Delta is fully supporting retrieval efforts and will cooperate with investigations as nothing is more important than safety,” the airline said in a written statement.

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