Part Falls Off Of Airplane And Lands In Phoenix Family's Backyard

A Phoenix family discovered a metal plate in their backyard last week that they think was part of an airplane.

Charlie and Jaclyn High told AZFamily that they found a foot by foot and a half metal panel a couple feet away from their back door on Friday. It weighs about two pounds, and the couple thinks the panel may be from an airplane bathroom because of the writing on it.

"It's not a huge piece of metal, but its a chunk of metal falling from the sky," said Charlie High. "I was very happy that no one was outside."

The couple thinks the part came from a plane landing or taking off from Scottsdale Airport since they only live a few miles away. They contacted the Federal Aviation Administration to report the falling object.

While it is weird to find a part of a plane on your property, it's not that uncommon. It happens often enough that there's a name for it in the aircraft safety community: TFOA, or Things Falling Off Aircraft, according to Air & Space magazine.

Finding large parts, like a wing or an engine, are incredibly rare and almost always come from a plane crash or major accident. Smaller parts, like the Highs' metal panel, tend to fall because of a maintenance issue or human error, like someone forgot to tighten a screw. Most of the time no one is hurt or even notices small parts when they hit the ground.

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