New York - New York police have found a fragment of one of two airplanes that slammed into the World Trade Centre on 11 September 2001.

The huge chunk of aircraft was found wedged between two office buildings in lower Manhattan.

The buildings, at 51 Park Place and 50 Murray Street, are located just two blocks from the site of the attacks known as Ground Zero.

Only a very narrow space exists between the buildings, which could explain how the part eluded investigators for nearly 12 years.

Police said the plane fragment appeared to be "part of a landing gear, apparently from one of the commercial airliners destroyed on 11 September 2001."


And the part bears a "clearly visible" Boeing identification number, according to police spokesperson Paul Browne. Although police would not confirm the size of the piece, NBC television reported it was about 1.5m long.

Human remains


Authorities said it will not be removed until the area has been thoroughly examined, including for possible human remains.

"The NYPD is securing the location as it would a crime scene, documenting

AFP