Did an airplane drop poop over a Burnsville neighborhood?
Video by WCCO News Photojournalist Tom Aviles
BURNSVILLE, Minn. – Some south metro residents say Friday, May 12 was like any other day – until some foul-smelling stuff fell from the sky.
Carisa Browne was waiting in the drive-thru line at the Caribou Coffee off Highway 13 and Cliff Road in Burnsville.
"I was waiting in line, getting my daily coffee…and all of a sudden brown dropped onto my vehicle," Browne said. "It was like it rained brown for a second, boom, like that. I got out and I went to the car in front of me and I was like, 'What just happened to us?' And he was like, 'I have no idea.'"
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Browne says her car, and the vehicle in front of her, were fully covered.
"Also my child was with me, so I'm glad the windows weren't open," she said.
"It stinked," said Browne's child. "It was poop."
Browne didn't see a flock of birds nearby, so confusion, and repulsion, reigned.
"The odor was so strong that the woman who was handing me my coffee noted how much it smelled," she said. "I mean, my cat had something similar to it this morning, so I've had a lot today with the poop."
Browne says the residential area is under a flight path.
"I had my A&P license, I went to school to be an aircraft mechanic, and I didn't know if there was even a way to release it mid-flight, so that's why I'm a little confused, I'm gonna look into it," she said.
Despite everything, Browne completed her transaction.
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"It's gonna take a lot to stand between me and my coffee [laughs]!" she said.
The Metropolitan Airports Commission says they are not aware of any incidents related to flight activity.
Browne did some Internet sleuthing and believes the culpable plane was a United Airlines flight to Denver. WCCO News reached out to United and got this response from their media relations department: "No reports on this from our end."
We're also waiting to hear back from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources about this possibly being the work of a large flock of birds.