Metal That Fell Off Plane Is Turbine Part

A small, hot piece of metal that fell in a Newport Beach alley on March 21 was a turbine blade from a United Airlines Boeing 757 flying overhead, the Federal Aviation Administration confirmed Friday.

FAA spokesman Fred O’Donnell said United Airlines maintenance experts at the air carrier’s San Francisco facility identified the blade.

A homeowner found the “smoking” metal after Chicago-bound United Airlines Flight 730 flew overhead immediately after it departed from John Wayne Airport.

The pilot reported engine failure and the aircraft was rerouted to Los Angeles International Airport, where it landed safely for repairs.

The plane’s 188 passengers and seven-member crew were placed on other flights.

O’Donnell said that engine failure is serious and that a turbine blade can be life-threatening should it hit someone on the ground.

He said that normal wear and tear sometimes results in the ejection of small engine fragments over populated areas.

“Sometimes the parts stay in the engine, and sometimes they come out,” O’Donnell said.

Homeowners, however, are not happy with such explanations.

Several years ago, after a similar engine failure rained flaming metal debris on a Newport Beach neighborhood, residents called for the county to further restrict the number of flights and narrow their path over Upper Newport Bay.