Commercial Airline Over Liberal Reports Meteor Shower

BELLVUE, Colo. (AP) – Authorities say reports of a possible

meteorite or meteor shower briefly grounded firefighting aircraft

battling a central Colorado wildfire.

Meteorologist Scott Entrekin of the National Weather Service

says emergency officials in Chaffee County reported a possible

meteor in the skies near the Springer Fire. They briefly grounded

four single-engine aircraft fighting the 1,100-acre blaze west of

Colorado Springs.

Entrekin said Wednesday that the crews of two commercial

aircraft flying over Liberal, Kansas reported what appeared to be a

meteorite at 1:47 p.m. Central Daylight Time, or 12:47 p.m.

Mountain time. He said the Colorado sighting occurred at about the

same time yesterday.

The Federal Aviation Administration says it has no confirmed

reports of a meteorite. It says there were no reported disruptions

to commercial airlines.