Fuel cap falls from sky, misses Winter Garden woman in backyard

Homeowner: It sounded 'worse that a gunshot'

WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – A Winter Garden woman said she narrowly missed getting hit by an object that fell from the sky and landed in her backyard swimming pool.

Dara Hackett said she and her friend were sitting on her patio Thursday afternoon when they both heard a very loud noise.

"Worse than a gunshot," she said.  "Like a very, very, very loud bang -- a ting noise.  Then, you heard it hit the pool and splash."

Hackett said she found a disc-shaped object, which was about 8 inches across.

The label read, "fuel servicing," and it had an odor.

"It smells like gas," she said.  "Where did it come from?"

Hackett feared it fell from the sky, slicing through her screen enclosure.

A quick internet search using the codes on the disc showed it was a "commercial aircraft grade fuel cap."

She asked which aircraft did it come from.

"That could have killed me," she said.  "It could have killed my friend, and it could have killed my dog."

The Federal Aviation Administration told News 6 there were no emergency landings reported at Orlando International Airport or Tampa International Airport on Thursday.

Representatives from the agency said they were going to contact the family to get more details about what happened and find out where the fuel cap came from.
 


About the Author

Erik Sandoval joined the News 6 team as a reporter in May 2013 and became an Investigator in 2020. During his time at News 6, Erik has covered several major stories, including the 2016 Presidential campaign. He was also one of the first reporters live on the air at the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

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