Airplane Panel Falls from Sky, Into Las Vegas Neighborhood: ‘I Thought the World Was Ending’

A piece of an airplane fell to the ground near Las Vegas earlier this week, although fortunately it does not appear that anybody was injured.

The incident took place on Thursday afternoon, when the aircraft part fell from the sky, landing in a northeast Las Vegas neighborhood, several blocks away from the Nellis Air Force Base, according to ABC News.

The outlet reports that the crash occurred close to two elementary schools, and that debris hit an apartment building and car. One photo obtained by ABC also shows a piece of the aircraft resting on a sidewalk nearby the residential property.

In a statement to USA Today, Draken International, a company that provides aircraft for military training, confirmed that the plane involved was one of their own.

“An access panel fell off a Draken aircraft (Thursday) afternoon shortly after departing Nellis (Air Force Base) on a routine training mission,” said spokesperson Scott Poteet, adding that the company was working with the FAA to investigate the cause of the incident.

“Draken remains focused on safety in every step of maintenance and flight operations. We appreciate the continued support from Nellis and the surrounding communities, and are thankful no one was injured,” Poteet added.

A spokesperson for the FAA confirms to PEOPLE that the investigation is ongoing, adding that it appeared the aircraft involved was an A-4.

Although it does not appear that anyone was injured, the incident was still scary for neighborhood residents.

“When it hit it was loud,” eyewitness Anthony Pitts told Las Vegas ABC affiliate KTNV. “The first thing I did was run in the house. I’m not going to lie, I was scared. I thought it was a shooting, that’s how loud it was.”

“One of my kids could have been walking out here and that thing would have hit him,” Pitts said. “It’s not going to be a concussion — they would be dead.”

“I thought the world was ending or something,” added Alex Lopez.

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