!["There's no UFOs over the [Maine] State Capitol building," says Bureau of Maine Capitol Police Screener Craig Donahue.](https://media.whas11.com/assets/NCM/images/1d0b0ee7-919a-4c06-a02e-c342a391eb4c/1d0b0ee7-919a-4c06-a02e-c342a391eb4c_1920x1080.jpg)
AUGUSTA, Maine — A "large metal object" crashed into the ground just outside the main entrance to the Maine State Capitol on Friday afternoon, police say.
A news release from the Maine Department of Public Safety stated the object weighing between 6 and 7 pounds crashed into the ground at a high velocity, about 6 to 8 feet from an officer who was walking outside the entrance. Two other people were nearby and saw the incident. No one was injured.
Police notified the Augusta State Airport and the Federal Aviation Administration. The latter launched an investigation while trying to find the part's origin, according to the release.
The part is "likely from a large airliner on an international route," the release stated.
Officials said the source is still unknown and remains under FAA investigation.
One bystander who was near the object when it landed said he saw a "large metal object" fall out of the sky and hit the ground.
Officials suspect the object fell nearly 30,000 feet from a large airplane flying over Augusta at the time.
"I picked it up, and I go, 'Whoa!' Because it was like, 'Holy cow, this thing is heavy. And it fell from the sky? Like, no one's gonna believe me," Bureau of Maine Capitol Police Screener Craig Donahue said.
"There's no UFOs over the [Maine] State Capitol building," he said.
Donahue has been with the bureau since 2013.