Staff at Noah's Ark Christian Academy at United Methodist Church in Barrington Hills called police at about 8:26 a.m. Monday after finding a piece of metal debris on the preschool grounds. The object, roughly 3 feet by 4 feet, had struck a fence on the north side of the building, and police said it possibly fell from an aircraft flying overhead.
The discovery and the early details of the response were first reported by dailyherald.com, which detailed the size of the object and the fact that it struck the academy's fence on its north side. The debris was also the subject of a release from the Barrington Hills Police Department, which said academy staff located the piece of metal debris outside their building on the church grounds. The discovery was also reported by NBC Chicago, which placed the academy at United Methodist Church on Algonquin Road.
FAA Takes Possession of the Object
Responding officers reported the debris measured about 3 by 4 feet and said it was possibly from an aircraft, according to the same local reporting. The Federal Aviation Administration now has possession of the item and is investigating, per the daily herald account of the incident.
The FAA's investigation into the matter remains open, and the agency's public accident and incident information is generally described as preliminary and subject to change, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
What Remains Unknown
It is not yet clear what material the debris is made of, whether it carries any markings or identifying numbers, or how long the FAA's review might take. The exact circumstances and timing of the debris striking the fence have not been independently verified beyond the preliminary report that it happened sometime Monday morning at the preschool.
For now, the academy and the surrounding Barrington Hills community are left waiting on federal investigators to determine where the debris came from and whether it poses any broader safety concern for homes and schools beneath the flight paths that cross the area.
