Many prefer the window seat on an airplane because you can gaze at the Earth below you and contemplate how far humankind has come since we climbed out of the primordial muck. But then again ,whoever was sitting by the window on a Delta Air Lines flight from Orlando to Atlanta last night might have had a more unsettling existential experience while watching a wing panel come loose and fly off.

First of all, the plane carrying 179 passengers and six crew members landed safely and without incident at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, reports CNN, so that’s a big sigh of relief.

“Crew members aboard Flight 2412 reported an access panel had come off the plane’s wing while in flight,” a Delta spokesman told CNN, calling the incident “highly unusual,” because yes, usually plane parts are designed to stay connected to the plane.

The airline is now investigating the Boeing 757 to see what would cause a wing panel to just go off on its own into the atmosphere, noting that “the problems with the wing did not affect the plane’s ability to fly or operable change in flight.”

You can follow MBQ on Twitter if that’s your kind of thing and don’t mind tweets about flying fears: @marybethquirk

Delta plane loses wing panel during flight [CNN]

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