A New Jersey family had a close call when a large piece of ice, believed to have fallen from an airplane, crashed through their home’s roof on Wednesday evening. The incident occurred around 9:30 p.m. in Paterson, NJ, while the Gomez family was gathered in their backyard, a mere 12 feet from the impact site.
Sabrina Gomez described the terrifying moment to local media. She recalled hearing a hollow sound, followed by a loud crash. Security footage from the family’s backyard captured the moment when the ice chunk fell, causing the family to leap from their seats in surprise.
Paul Gomez, another family member, described the ice as large stones forming a big square that smashed everything upon impact. The Gomez family’s home is situated directly under several flight paths, which led them to believe that the ice chunk fell from an overhead plane.
After the incident, the family rushed to the front of their house and filmed the scattered ice pieces on their driveway. Sabrina Gomez expressed relief that no one was hurt, but the damage to their roof was so extensive that it might need to be replaced entirely.
The family has since filed a claim with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to investigate the incident. They believe the ice fell from a plane passing overhead.
This chilling event mirrors a similar incident that occurred nearly a year ago when a 15 to 20-pound ice chunk struck a Massachusetts home. In that case, homeowners Jeff Ilg and Amelia Rainville were inside their Shirley home when the ice crashed through their roof. The couple suspected that the ice had fallen from an airplane heading to Boston Logan International Airport, located about 47 miles from their home.
According to the FAA, airplanes can accumulate ice due to supercooled water, an unstable liquid that freezes upon contact with an aircraft in the sky. This can occur when an aircraft flies near the top of a cold air mass beneath a layer of warm air, such as during freezing rain ahead of a warm front in winter.