Falling Plane Debris Nearly Hits Maine Capitol Police Officer

A metal cylinder tumbled from a passing airplane and landed yards away from a Maine Capitol police officer working security at the building in Augusta.

Aug. 16, 2022

By Will Katcher

Source masslive.com

A roughly 6-pound metal object, believed to have come from a passing airplane, fell near the Maine State House in Augusta on Friday, nearly striking a police officer working security at the building, state officials said.

According to the Maine Department of Public Safety, the 6- to 7-pound metal cylinder crash-landed around 12:30 p.m. on Friday, just yards from Maine Capitol Police Officer Craig Donahue, who was walking outside the state capitol entrance.

Two other people in the area also witnesses the plummeting debris, said Shannon Moss, a Department of Public Safety spokesperson. No one was injured.

Moss said the metal piece likely came from a large international flight passing over Augusta.

The Capitol Police notified the Augusta State Airport and Federal Aviation Administration, Moss said. The FAA is investigating the incident and attempting to locate the plane from which the object originated.

“Our immediate concern was that there’s an aircraft missing a part,” Capitol Police Chief Matthew Clancy told the Bangor Daily News. “It could have catastrophic results.”

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