Does anyone know yet whether this large panel fell of the aircraft because someone did not secure it properly or was it because of defective attachment fittings, other structural or system failures, etc?
It was nice to read that someone had proactively decided that it may be wise to try and locate the detached part(s) as soon as possible. Not only could that potentially help with any later investigation, particularly if the failure later turned out not to be caused by an incorrect panel closure problem, but it could have also helped to ensure that nobody was injured on the ground by the falling debris.
Whilst on this occasion the panel may not have struck the fuselage or tailplane as it detached, that may not always be the case if this was to happen again on another aircraft. Therefore these types of failures should be taken seriously, even if it costs some $$s to carry out such searches!
May I also say how refreshing it was to read what I personally thought was a fair news article about this event. I could not see anything wrong with the reporter’s statement that it was a "scary morning for passengers..."? I am sure that for many passengers (and even some crew members) it may well have seemed ‘Scary’ to them if they heard something unknown break and then heard subsequent loud/unusual noises/vibrations, etc! On this occasion the reporter deserves credit for not creating an over-the-top “we thought we were all going to die” type of news article.
