WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – A Winter Garden woman, who claimed a fuel cap fell from the sky into her pool Thursday, said federal investigators arrived Friday to assess what happened.
Dara Hackett called News 6 after she said the 8-inch-wide fuel cap sliced through her screened enclosure and narrowly missed hitting her and her friend.
"All of a sudden we hear this noise," she said. "I’ve heard a gunshot, but it sounded so much louder and so much worse."
She said an investigator with the Federal Aviation Administration visited her home Friday and told her the fuel cap most likely came from a military-type aircraft.
She said he told her the object likely fell at speeds of 300 mph and it could have traveled 10 miles from the point where it came detached from the aircraft.
She said he told her the agency was investigating and trying to pinpoint which aircraft it came from.
"Being so close to Orlando International Airport, we have airliners and military aircraft coming in all day," said Parker Brown, pilot for Sky 6.
He said helicopters' gas caps are usually covered but the physics were still the same.
He said the fuel cap could have traveled a long way.
"If it's a large military aircraft, it could be going anywhere from 300 to 400 knots, so falling off at 30,000 feet, it can travel miles," he said.
Hackett said the FAA told her its investigation could take as long as one month.
