Ericferret - I agree with you, thinking it stuck to the soap stuff they lube the tubes with when installing them - wonder if he'll be happy to front up the $600 the shenanigans cost me - I doubt it.
I have contacted just about everyone I can think of and agree it is not an "incident" so no NTSB.
I did park up just past the numbers on an international airport - that was the thing that bothered me a more than a little.