Tiles ripped off roof in Birmingham by plane vortex – fortunately nobody injured
Birmingham Airport has had a Vortex Protection Scheme in place for many years. As with many other airports, the problem of damage to roofs by vortices created by over-flying planes is well known. In some air conditions, swirling masses of air descend from planes, like a very small tornado, and can rip off loose tiles. So far nobody has been badly injured by this. Airports are keen to get the damage fixed as fast as possible, to avoid danger and bad publicity. Predicting where vortex damage is likely is difficult. Now in Birmingham a resident has had a number of tiles (around 12 perhaps) dislodged from the roof of her council house, falling onto the patio below. She commented that it was lucky that she was not sitting outside, nor that any children were playing there. An airport spokeswoman said officials were “looking into the incident” after being informed. There have been many such incidents, with cases in Germany near Frankfurt airport early in 2013, a case in March 2013 in Old Windsor, and several incidents at Belfast City Airport in 2010.
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More information about the problem of vortices, caused by over-flying planes at
Vortex damage to house roofs from over-flying planes
Information on the Birmingham Airport Vortex Protection Scheme and the VPS Leaflet.
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Kitts Green mum ‘lucky to be alive’ after freak airplane ‘vortex’ rip tiles from her roof
Sharon Ward said she believed the drama was sparked by planes landing at Birmingham Airport
A mum said she was lucky to be alive after freak winds allegedly caused by a low-flying plane sent roof tiles plummeting into her garden.
Around 20 tiles were ripped from Sharon Ward’s roof in a scene she described as “carnage”.
They landed yards from the spot where children had been playing.
Shop assistant Sharon said she believed the drama was sparked by planes landing at Birmingham Airport.
The airport confirmed it was looking into the incident.
Sharon, 51, said: “It’s absolute carnage.
“It looks like a bomb site as about 20 tiles came off and smashed in my garden and onto the furniture outside.
“I’m lucky I wasn’t sunbathing as I am usually outside if there’s a spot of sunshine.
“The tiles could have fallen onto me. The neighbour’s children had been playing outside ten minutes earlier. They could have been seriously hurt. It’s so dangerous and something needs to be done about this.
“Another neighbour was in his garden at the time and said he saw a plane flying low over my house.
“I tried calling the airport but I was told to call back on Monday.”
Council tenant Sharon, of Moodys Croft, Kitts Green, said she heard a huge crashing sound after an aircraft approached at 2pm on Saturday.
An airport spokeswoman said officials were “looking into the incident” after being informed by the Mail.
In 2009, the Mail revealed that hundreds of homes in Kitts Green had been re-roofed because of vortex winds producing by landing planes.
Birmingham Airport conducted a study on the nature of vortex strikes with Kinetic, a company which worked with the Ministry of Defence.
But the results were inconclusive.
A member of the airport’s environment team said at the time: “Locating risk areas is very difficult.
“It can be the case that one side of the street has strikes and the other hasn’t – it is very difficult to predict.”
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/kitts-green-mum-lucky-alive-7922031
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Below are links to some other incidents of vortex damage to houses:
Some incidents of roof damage – from the news:
Damage to roof and falling tiles, Birmingham 12.10.2014 read more …..
Damage to roof in Florsheim, Germany 3.4.2013 read more …..
Damage to house in Old Windsor 22.3.2013 read more …..
Belfast residents call for independent inquiry into yet another roof tiles incident 6.6.2010 read more …..
Damage at George Best Belfast City airport 13.9.2009 read more …..
Damage at Birmingham airport over several years read more …..
Damage in Germany 13.11.2009 read more …..
Damage in Thailand 6.10.2006 read more …..
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An earlier article from 2009 about vortex damage in Birmingham:
Hundreds of houses near Birmingham Airport re-roofed after freak winds from planes
- Birmingham Mail)
HUNDREDS of properties near Birmingham Airport have been re-roofed in the last six years due to freak vortex winds produced by landing aircraft.
HUNDREDS of properties near Birmingham Airport have been re-roofed in the last six years due to freak vortex winds produced by landing aircraft.
The majority of strikes have occurred around the Kitts Green area, affecting roads lying at the end of the runway, directly under the flight path.
Vortex strikes are unpredictable. Ben Hanley, working for the Environment Team at Birmingham Airport said: “Locating risk areas is very difficult, it can be the case that one side of the street has strikes and the other hasn’t, it is very difficult to predict.”
Birmingham Airport conducted a study on the nature of vortex strikes with Kinetic, a company who have worked with the Ministry of Defence. The findings have been inconclusive though it has been confirmed that less than 0.01 per cent of flights cause vortex damage.
George Megarry of Tile Cross Road is the most recent homeowner to be affected by a vortex when a strike dislodged tiles on his garage roof last Sunday, leaving a visible hole.
The airport is aware of the concerns of those living in areas at risk of vortex strikes. Ben Hanley said: “We have a strong commitment to the local community, we’ve spent over a million pounds so far on the roofing project. If we get a call about a property hit by a vortex we will make immediate repairs, and then go back at a later date to re-roof the property.” The new roofing will be “extremely robust”.
Mr Megarry is concerned by the incident, “This was the worst vortex I have ever heard, it was dangerous. If my grandchildren were here, they could have been killed.”
This is not a problem unique to Birmingham Airport and other major airports support similar schemes. Heathrow Airport is funding a £15 million voluntary Vortex Protection Scheme in which every house, school, church or hospital affected by a Heathrow vortex strike is eligible for vortex protection.
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/hundreds-of-houses-near-birmingham-airport-103066
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