Engine part falls from Delta jetliner

ST. LOUIS, July 16 (UPI) -- An investigation is underway to determine why a metal part fell off a Delta Airlines jet during takeoff from Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.

The incident Tuesday morning forced Delta Flight 989 to Atlanta to return to Lambert after the pilot heard a loud bang and one of the engines shut down, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Wednesday.

The cone-shaped metal part that fell off the jet landed on a road in St. Charles County, taking a chunk out of the pavement.

A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration described the part as a tail cone and said it apparently came off the plane's engine.

The MD-88 was carrying 114 passengers and five crew members.

Delta spokesman Kent Landers said it is rare for a piece of engine to fall from an aircraft.