Ice block from plane crashes through house roof in Banbury
A Banbury woman was left with a £12,000 hole in her roof, thought to have been caused by a block of ice falling from a plane. She heard a massive bang, went upstairs and could see blue sky through a hole into her loft, and out of the roof. She found bits of grey ice on the landing floor. Nobody was hurt. Having called out the fire brigade, a firefighter told her it was likely caused by ice falling from an aircraft on its way into Heathrow. The repair will cost about £12,000, through insurance. Some previous incidents of ice blocks falling from planes have been water from the plane toilets. Others are water in the undercarriage bay when the aircraft took off which formed into ice and stays as a block of ice whilst cruising at 35,000ft. As the airplane cames in to land at 3,000 or 4,000ft, the undercarriage would be put down and the slightly melted ice would fall out. There is information about other incidents, in previous years, of objects – often ice blocks – falling from planes. See link. Webtrak shows there are flight paths over the area. https://webtrak.emsbk.com/lhr4
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Ice ‘from airplane’ crashes through Banbury woman’s roof
23rd September 2023
By Oxford Mail reporter
Dr Carla George heard a bang and found ice had smashed through her roof in Banbury
A Banbury woman was left with a £12,000 hole in her roof thought to have been caused by a block of ice falling from a plane.
Criminology researcher Dr Carla George, 45, was on a work call when she heard a massive bang.
She thought some boxes must have fallen in the attic at her home in Withycombe Drive, Banbury. But when she went to investigate, she could see blue sky through a hole in the roof and found a large block of ice on the floor.
“I went up to the attic and saw ice everywhere and I was confused where it had come from – it was like something from a movie,” Dr George said.
“I was in shock. My neighbour rang the doorbell and said, ‘Do you know there’s a hole in the roof?’ It was so unusual.
“I thought it was some sort of explosion when I got up there.”
Having called out the fire brigade, she said a firefighter told her it was likely caused by ice falling from an aircraft on its way into Heathrow.
She said: “We do have planes flying over but I didn’t hear any that day and neither did my neighbour, so that was really surprising.”
Although temporarily covered over with a tarpaulin sheet, Dr Carla’s roof will need a full repair. It’s expected the damage will cost £12,000 to fix.
She said: “The blocks of ice took a whole day to melt and then we had the insurers come round.
“The roofers put in a temporary fix the next day and we are waiting for surveyors to assess the damage and see what can be done for the restoration work.
“At the moment we still have the hole in the inner ceiling – you can see the lining from the outside.
“At least it’s all covered by the insurance.
“And at least it didn’t hit any other rooms and there were no injuries.”
Retired Concorde pilot John Hutchinson, 86, said it wasn’t the first time that an ice fall from an aircraft had caused damage like that seen to Dr George’s home.
“As to why the ice falls – well you don’t flush toilets overboard so to speak, so it won’t be from a loo,” the former pilot said.
“To me the most likely scenario is water in the undercarriage bay when the aircraft took off which formed into ice and would stay as a block of ice whilst cruising at 35,000ft.
“And as the airplane came into land at 3,000 or 4,000ft, the undercarriage would be selected down and it would fall out – that would be one solution.
“It’s certainly possible that it would have been caused by a block of ice that fell off an airplane.”
https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/23809221.ice-from-airplane-crashes-banbury-womans-roof/
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See some other incidents of falling ice blocks:
Kew ice block fall – 7th February 2018.
Block of ice from a plane smashes onto a road in Kew, captured by a taxi firm camera. No more than 25 feet from a street cleaner and a pedestrian, and perhaps 18 seconds before a car goes past. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-london-43006699/block-of-ice-crashes-to-earth-near-kew-gardens
Ice block (presumably off plane approaching Heathrow) damages roof just west of Windsor
There have been a number of incidents, at many airports, of lumps of ice falling off planes overhead, coming in to land. Ice can form naturally on aircraft flying at high altitudes, and this can break away and fall off when the plane comes down through warmer air. There is another recent incident of this, to someone under the approach path into Heathrow, just west of Windsor. On 10th February (some time between 7 am and 8.30am) some ice crashed through the roof of a house in Oakley Green Road near Windsor. The owners of the house were not hurt, though there is substantial damage to the roof. This is another incident where it is fortunate the ice fell onto a roof, and not onto people. Such a large object falling onto someone would kill or seriously injure them. Builders secured the property before the weekend and repairs were set to begin the next week. The CAA says this sort of incident is “‘relatively rare” and the CAA website says: “As the safety regulator for UK civil aviation, the CAA requires UK aircraft operators to minimise the risk of ice falls by performing regular maintenance to prevent leaks and take prompt corrective action if a defect is found. The CAA is unable to investigate the potential origin of an ice fall, but does record reports of this nature.”
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Block of ice (from plane?) crashes through edge of roof of family home in Chelmsford
People living under flight paths not infrequently suffer from objects that fall from planes, the most common of which appears to be lumps of ice. Now (on 4th March) there has been yet another incident where a block of ice has landed on a house, narrowly missing people. The house is under a Stansted flight path, in Chelmsford, Essex and is the home of a couple and their two teenage children. The ice block, described as perhaps football size, crashed through the overhang of their roof, missing going through the bedroom ceiling by just a few feet. That part of the bedroom is where the couple sleep. The ice block left a gaping hole in the roof. Members of the family were asleep at the time, and were woken by a noise they thought was a bomb going off. The couple now face a repair bill of thousands of pounds. Had the block been only a few inches closer to the window, the couple fear it would have impacted the window, which would have shattered it – with the bed just feet away. The CAA have been contacted, to ascertain if the ice is indeed from a plane. Ice can form naturally on aircraft flying at high altitudes which falls when the plane descends into warmer air and the ice breaks away. The CAA says it is not liable for damage due to an ice fall. Other incidents of objects, including ice, falling from planes.
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Block of ice from a passing plane crashes through roof of home in Twyford
An elderly couple, in Twyford, Berkshire (under a Heathrow flight path) had the unpleasant experience of a block of ice, which appeared to have fallen from a passing plane, crash through their roof. The two foot long block cracked the ceiling. Luckily it hit the roof in a different part of the house from where the couple were. They said they were lucky not to have been injured. There have been many other incidents over the years of blocks of ice falling – associated with frozen water from aircraft lavatories. Had the ice block fallen onto the road, it could have hit a car or a passer-by. Had it fallen onto a busy road like a motorway, it could have caused a serious accident. The elderly couple had to be assisted by their son in sorting out insurance, and getting the roof repaired. As the insurance company was slow, being a Sunday morning, the local fire brigade helped to patch up the damage and confirm the water and electricity supplies to their house were undamaged. Water (from a lavatory?) from the ice block was dripping through the (now sagging) damaged ceiling. The couple have kept a sample of water, so it can be tested, to identify if it is from a lavatory. Other reports of earlier incidents of items falling from planes can be seen here.
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More at
Cases of objects, including human stowaways, but often blocks of ice, falling from planes
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