One Woman Complains Of Breathing, Skin Problems

Vicki Morris, a 51-year old realtor who lives in Tampa, FL, was walking her dog Monday night when she said she heard the all-familiar sound of a jet flying low overhead as it was on approach to Tampa International. Just a moment later, Morris said she felt a heavy mist, smelling of kerosene, falling all around her. She said she couldn't breath, that her skin and scalp were burned. Now, the FAA is investigating whether an aircraft on approach to the airport might have dumped fuel over Morris's neighborhood.

"We will go back to air traffic control. We will double- and triple-check the radar data," said FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. An initial check of traffic landing at Tampa International Monday night indicates no aircraft was flying over Morris's neighborhood at the time she was walking her dog, but Bergen said investigators are on the job.

"We will identify all aircraft in that area, both departing and landing, within the given time period,'' Bergen told the Tampa Tribune. "Then we will go back to the airlines to see if they can provide an explanation. Right now, we have no evidence of any planes in that area at that time that had dumped fuel or had a fuel leak.''

Morris said she collected a sample of the mist and has it in a pill bottle in case the FAA wants to check it out. She also told the Tribune she's still feeling the effects of what she and her husband are certain was an illegal fuel dump from above.

"My eyes are really red,'' she told the paper. "My skin is still tingling, like I want to take three or four showers a day.''

FMI: www.faa.gov