It Wasn't A Bird. Was It A Plane? A Massive Piece Of Hail? An Ice Comet?
Brush, Colorado -- The mystery continues in Brush after something fell from the sky and crashed through Danelle Hagan's kitchen.
Initially, most involved thought it came from a plane, likely that so-called "blue ice" that sometimes falls from commercial airliners.
There are now several new theories, including the possibility it may have been an "ice comet."
The Discovery Channel is investigating that possibility for an upcoming show set to air this spring.
Construction crews are working to restore Hagan's kitchen. It's an older home, so restoration crews had to clean up some asbestos before crews could start rebuilding.
It happened two months ago, on Nov. 14. Hagan and her 8-year-old daughter were at home in the living room when they heard what they thought was an explosion in the kitchen. It turns out a basketball-sized chunk of ice crashed through her kitchen ceiling -- destroying everything in its path.
Neither Hagan nor her daughter were injured.
Hagan saved a piece of the ice and put it in her freezer.
"And I assumed when the FAA came out to pick up the ice, along with reviewing the radar, that it would be very clear-cut. And instead, we've had about two months of the run-around at this point," said a frustrated Hagan.
She believes a plane caused the damage.
Others, like renowned University of Denver astronomy professor Dr. Robert Stencel, believe it may have been a massive piece of hail known as megachryo meteorites. Stencel says it could be the product of large scale climate changes. He says high atmospheric convection could keep a chunk of ice above the clouds for a long period of time.
"We can probably rule out anything extraterrestrial. An icy body in space is moving fairly fast relative to Earth. And encountering our atmosphere -- it would burn up much like meteorites do. So the chances of an ice ball reaching the ground, it would have to start out enormously huge -- and we would see that coming on radar," said Stencel.
Hagan and her insurance agent believe the only logical explanation is that it came from a commercial airliner.
"All the evidence leads to it coming from a commercial aircraft flying into DIA on the approach corridor over northeastern Colorado and specifically Ft. Morgan and Brush," said Allan Goetz with Goetz Insurers.
Brush does sit right below the primary approach corridor for air traffic into DIA coming from many cities in the Northeast and upper Midwest.
The FAA did not return 7NEWS phone calls Friday, but a spokesman has said in the past its findings up to this point have been inconclusive.
Hagan doesn't believe the FAA has ever tested the ice to determine whether it includes human waste or chemicals that would prove it is "blue ice."
"This is not an act of God. This is a mechanical failure," said Goetz.
Hagan has been out of her home for two months, living in a rental property.
"It was a weird Christmas this year. I have a 9-year-old now. We would just like to know what happened," said Hagan.
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