Incredulously, in a very reasonable time frame a gentleman called me from the FAA. In an unhurried fashion he quizzed me about the sequence of events, what I had heard and what I had seen. He was thorough and respectful as I took him through the events after the attention getting thump on the roof.
Using perhaps Google Maps, he affirmed the orientation of the house, and I walked outside, describing the location of the projectile. ‘Is it possible, being that you do not see any damage, that the ice fell from the chimney?’ In our twenty plus years here I can never recall anything like this happening.
Feeling a bit embarrased, I replied, “That is a very good possibility..Apologies for wasting your time.”
‘Oh no,’ he said.
The gentleman went on to say that there was a previous incident like this, and an FAA representative actually went on site, inspected the cap on the homeowner’s chimney, and found a hole which could cause an icicle to form. Had there not been precedent, maybe I would have been paid a visit. When it comes to the FAA, but no stone is left unturned. The rep I spoke with wanted to make sure I was satisfied with his explanation and in no way wanted to push his findings on me.
This guy was methodical, respectful, and extremely competent. Very impressive, and I’m sure quite astute when it comes to solving ‘real’ incidents.
Yeah, It came out of the……chimney.
