ceiling damage in Northern Virginia

Three news stories in one year, the latest in Florida.

If your home or office has damage that suggests a projectile blasted through the roof and through the insulation and drywall…

..and, if you also find a heavy metal object with a coarse surface that looks like either of these two images…

…then, consider yourself lucky that only your home was damaged.

In all three stories, FAA has been called to investigate, and the object has been identified as an industrial tooth bolted to the interior of a large industrial shredder, used to grind branches and other yard debris. The nuts tend to fail and the shredding tooth then launches. These projectiles reportedly can land up to a mile away.Look for tiny pieces of hard metal coated onto the cutting face (see close-up). Real aviation debris tends to be lighter and constructed from aluminum, plastics, and other ‘layered’ materials. Here are links to the three news stories:

• Seattle, WA (6/23/2013)
• Reston, VA (1/31/2014)
• West Palm Beach, FL (5/15/2014)

Here is an example of REAL aviation debris that fell from the sky: a Boeing 767 landing gear door, on a street in Kent, WA (September 2012).