By JASON GEARY , The Tampa Tribune
Tampa Bay Online
Jan 29, 2007

TAMPA - With a loud groaning noise, a large chunk of ice plummeted from the sky Sunday morning, crushing a Tampa man's dream car but missing nearby houses on Hilldrop Court.
Residents looked in disbelief at the wreckage of the red 2000 Ford Mustang, its roof pushed inward and rear window blown out.
"I did not believe it until I came and looked at it for myself," said Carlos Javage, 52, of Tampa.
The car had belonged to his 20-year-old son, Andres, for about a year.
Saturday night, the son parked his Mustang outside a friend's home at 9406 Hilldrop Court in northwest Tampa, planning to return later to fetch it. Sunday morning, he got the unhappy news.
Carlos Javage said his son, who is still paying off the car, was in shock.
"That was his dream car," he said.
Bits of glass and ice littered the car's damp back seat. A baseball-size piece of ice stood near the spoiler.
John Young, 38, who lives across the street, stored a larger piece - about as big as a football - in his refrigerator.
At about 9:30 a.m. Sunday, Ramon Rodriguez, 50, was standing yards away washing his own car when the ice fell. Rodriguez said he couldn't see what was causing a loud groaning noise until the Mustang's rear window burst.
Barry Goldsmith, a forecaster with the National Weather Service, said complex weather circumstances in the upper levels of the atmosphere may create large balls of ice, known as megacryometeors.
But Sunday's weather conditions alone - partly cloudy, cool and breezy - likely weren't responsible for such a destructive chunk of ice.
Inspectors with the Federal Aviation Administration began reviewing flight schedules Sunday to determine whether the ice might have come from an aircraft.
"We are looking into it," FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said. "There are various ways ice can form on a plane and break off."
For instance, there are cases of blue ice related to the lavatory of a plane, she said.
However, the ice that struck the Mustang was clear.
Carlos Javage said his son has contacted an insurance agent to explain the odd story.
"It's not an act of God," Carlos Javage said. "This came off an airplane."