Canon Lens Thought To Have Fallen From Aircraft

Debbie Payne of Petaluma, California says she heard a loud crash that shook her two-story home, discovered a hole in her roof and two torn window screens, and then found a damaged camera lens outside her home. Local police are trying to find the owner of the lens, and figure out how it fell from the sky.

The 55-year-old woman tells KGO-TV in San Francisco it could have been much worse, as she lives only about 200 feet from an elementary school. "It would have killed someone, had there been someone underneath the lens."

The estimate from a contractor to repair the damage is about $4,500, but Debbie is hoping to find the owner of the lens and recover the $1,000 deductible she'll have to pay out of pocket to get her house fixed. While it's hard to imagine any other way the lens could have arrived on the scene with such force, FAA spokeman Ian Gregor predicts, "even proving this came from an aircraft could be difficult."

The camera lens was made by Canon, and is about 9 inches long and two pounds in weight. It has a serial number, and the manufacturer is helping officials track down the owner.

FMI