A Delta Airlines plane lost part of its wing during a flight from Orlando to Atlanta Sunday.
The crew of Delta Flight 2412 reported the panel flew off while in flight.
“Actually, I thought we were going to crash,” said Christian Crossley, who was a passenger on the plane.
There were 179 passengers and six crew members on board.
Crossley was seated in seat 25-C next to his wife and dog when he heard what he thought was the landing gear going down.
He said he immediately knew something else was going on.
“There was a lot of panic in there, a lot of people were gasping and turning around and saying ‘Oh my God, what’s going to happen?'” Crossley said.
Crossley says the pilot assured the passengers he could land the plane, but then Crossley says the the pilot was brutally honest and said he couldn’t promise anything beyond that.
The plane landed safely and without incident at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
A Delta spokeswoman said the plane is a Boeing 757, but he could not say how old the aircraft is.
Officials are trying to determine what caused the panel to fly off.
“He had no way of steering once we landed either, he said if he didn’t hit the runway straight on then we would be in trouble,” Crossley said
The plane landed safely at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, but had to be towed to the gate.