Family finds piece of aircraft in back garden

‘I was very happy that no one was outside,’ says father of two

The panel is thought to originate from a plane (KPHO/KTVK)

A family in the US claims to have found a piece of an aircraft in their back garden.

Charlie and Jaclyn High, who live not far from Scottsdale airport in Phoenix, Arizona, said they found a white piece of metal not far from their back door on Friday 9 October.

“I picked it up and flipped it over and saw some of the words and writing on it and pretty immediately thought - ‘This fell from an airplane,'” Charlie told KPHO/KTVK.

Weighing just under a kilogram and measuring around 30cm by 45cm, the object looked as if it might be a panel from a plane toilet.

Although the piece of debris wasn’t huge, the couple, who have two young children and various pets, were relieved that no one was outside at the time when it fell.

“I’m very thankful my kids weren’t outside, even my dogs and my tortoise. It missed my tortoise, but I’m glad it didn’t hit a car somebody that was driving,” said Jaclyn.

Charlie added: “It’s not a huge piece of metal – but it’s a chunk of metal falling from the sky. I was very happy that no one was outside.”

The pair said they would be reporting the incident to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

It’s not the first time part of an aircraft has dropped from the sky.

In December 2019, residents of a town in Massachusetts became angry when an evacuation slide fell from a plane flying overhead.

The 6ft silver slide tumbled from a Delta flight travelling from Paris to Logan International Airport in Boston.

It landed in a front garden on Adams Street in the small town of Milton, where locals expressed their concern.

“We dodged a bullet,” Milton Select Board Chair Michael Zullas told the Boston Herald. “We’re thankful no one was injured.”

He added that residents were “angry” as this was the second time something had fallen from the sky onto Milton in the last 10 years.