Delta plane loses wing panel in flight

A Delta plane traveling from Orlando, Fla., to Atlanta was able to land safely after a panel fell of its right wing during flight Sunday.

Flight 2412, carrying 179 passengers and six crew, landed without other incident as scheduled at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, a spokesman for the airline said.

"The problems with the wing did not affect the plane's ability to fly or operable change in flight," Delta spokesman Anthony Black said. The crew, knowing that, followed procedure by declaring an emergency to air traffic control as they were landing, which gave them priority clearance to land and alerted ground crews.

Maintenance officials are inspecting the Boeing 757 to determine what caused the panel to come off.

[CNN] [NBC]