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NYPD: Part Of 9/11 Airliner's Landing Gear Discovered At 'Ground Zero Mosque' Site

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) — A piece of landing gear believed to be from one of the planes destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks has been discovered wedged between a New York City mosque and another building.

New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne said Friday the part includes a Boeing identification number. Police haven't said how big the part is or which plane it may have come from.

Browne says the piece was discovered Wednesday by surveyors inspecting a lower Manhattan Islamic community center on behalf of the building's owner. He says the inspectors called 911 and police have secured the scene, documenting it with photos.

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne told WCBS 880′s Wayne Cabot and Steve Scott that the space between the buildings is small enough for a person to cross — just feet apart.

Police say the medical examiner's office will complete a health and safety evaluation to determine whether to sift the soil around the buildings for possible human remains.

Two hijacked planes that took off from Logan Airport slammed into the nearby World Trade Center towers in 2001, killing thousands of people.

(TM and © Copyright 2013 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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