Spirit Airlines flight out of Metro spews plane parts into yards; FAA investigating

The Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a Spirit Airlines flight that resulted in plane pieces landing in the yards of metro Detroit residents.

On Monday evening, a Spirit Airlines flight from Detroit to Atlanta had to return to Detroit Metro Airport after experiencing engine failure, according to the FAA. The flight was able to land without any incidents, however, in the process, some pieces from the plane landed in the yards of nearby residents.

The FAA sent investigators to look into what went awry the following day. Part of their investigation will include looking at pieces that landed in the yards.

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"It's hard to speculate, we will determine the cause of the incident," said Tony Molinaro a FAA spokesperson based out of Chicago.

Molinaro said the investigation should be concluded in the coming weeks.

One Spirit passenger on the flight that had to be re-routed Monday told the Free Press in an e-mail that the flight was "about 5,000" feet in the air when there was "a large bang and the plane started to shake and shudder [sic]."

The passenger said the right engine was on fire, sparking and losing metal, and within 10 minutes of taking off the pilot had re-landed the plane.

Passengers were given two $50 vouchers, and put on new flights.

Contact Allie Gross: aegross@freepress.com