Plane debris rains ‘like bullets’ from the sky over Rome
...As Boeing 787engine breaks apart mid-air
People screamed and ran for cover after plane debris “rained like bullets” on their homes near Rome’s main airport.
An air investigation is underway after bits of a Boeing 787 fell out of the sky causing extensive damage and injuring at least one person.
The pebble-size fragments damaged cars and roofs in the vicinity of Rome’s Fiumicino airport when they fell from the Norwegian airline’s plane after takeoff on Saturday.
One witness told Italian newspaper, Il Messaggero: “They were like bullets. My shirt was on fire!”
And another said: “It looked like a strong hailstorm but it was sunny. I went out on the balcony and saw it was a storm of steel and iron. I screamed and ran into the house.”
According to municipal sources, 25 cars and 12 homes were damaged. One 54-year-old man was hit by a splinter He said he felt “lucky to be alive.”
Worried residents came out on to the streets to pick up the pieces, mostly measuring centimetres.
Some of the fragments rained down on parked cars, smashing windowsbecause of the violent impact.
The Mayor, Esterino Montino confirmed the incident on his Facebook page and called for urgent action to avoid further danger.
He wrote: “Around 4:40 pm on Saturday, an aircraft taking off from the Leonardo da Vinci airport suffered a breakdown and had to return.
“During the breakdown, however, it lost metal pieces that fell at great speed to the ground, at Via Mariotti in Isola Sacra.”
“When falling, these fragments hit parked cars, garden sheds and other objects, damaging them. Local police, state police, the Carabinieri police, fire brigade and civil protection ten to 20