Metal debris falls from plane overhead in Dearborn Heights

DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (WJBK) - Strange objects fall from the sky nearly hitting people on the ground in Dearborn Heights.

Those who live here on Polk Street just eight miles from the airport are used to planes flying overhead - but they are not used to pieces of metal raining down from the sky and now the Federal Aviation Administration is looking into what exactly what happened.

"It was like 'wrrrrr' it was trying to get up enough power," said Marylou Eramo.

Living in a flight path close to Detroit Metropolitan Airport in Romulus, airplanes are part of the landscape but then they heard something different Sunday evening.

"If you could imagine taking a tow chain or a heavy dog chain and then dropping it in a metal pan," said Patty Good.

"It was loud because my dogs perked their heads up," said Ryann Nickell. "I went outside after we heard it and found this one outside my porch step.  My dad got out the metal detector this morning and we found all these in my yard."

"Last night we heard everything falling and I saw Ron, my neighbor, he was out there dancing around," said Thomas Champagne. "I thought he found money, it turns out he was dodging things falling."

Metal shards, some small, some bigger, rained down on them and damaging car windows.

"It did like, a little dent and it spider webbed everywhere," Good said.

Luckily there were no serious injuries.

"It hit my roof and then hit my leg," said Eramo.

"I've been here for 35 years now and I've never had anything like this," Good said.

Patty Good was the first to discover the metal airplane parts, not knowing what to do she called police.

"It was still warm when he touched it. It was pretty hot," she said.

Then she called the FAA.

"He said it looked like a turbine engine," Good said.

Investigators from the Federal Aviation Administration came out and took a report, telling her they will pay for the repairs to her car.
  
As for everyone else, they got a few souvenirs and a wild story to share. 

Residents of about eight or nine houses in the area found the engine metal scattered on their property. One person found about 2 dozen pieces in their yard alone.

The FAA is still investigating, asking people in this area to call the Flight Standards Office in the Detroit area if they find any damage to their property.