[meteorite-list] Origin Of Sydney Fallen Ice Chunk A Mystery

From: Tracy Latimer <tracyl_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 09:44:36 2004
Message-ID: <Pine.SOL.3.93.1010307111843.9652A-100000_at_netra.lib.state.hi.us>

Sorry, but chances are good that this really was terrestrial in origin.
AS a former student pilot, I can vouch for the fact that it doesn't take
much to create an ice buildup on a plane, often under circumstances that
don't seem likely at all to create ice. And light planes (the likely
culprit) don't always stick to established flight paths, especially if
they need to dodge inclement weather. I'd be curious what the weather was
like in the area around Manly.

Or maybe it came from a leaky tank on a jet. Anyone familiar with the old
story about the "Icy B.M."? :-)

Tracy Latimer

On Wed, 7 Mar 2001, Ron Baalke wrote:

>
>
> http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/story_3088.asp
>
> Origin of Sydney fallen ice chunk a mystery
> Nine News (Australia)
> March 7, 2001
>
> Authorities were stumped today over the origin of a chunk of ice that
> crashed through the roof and ceiling of a house on Sydney's northern
> beaches.
>
> No-one was hurt when the ice-cream container sized block smashed apart on
> the bathroom floor of a 63-year-old woman in Coles Road, Harbord at 7.15pm
> (AEDT) yesterday, Manly police said.
>
> Hail had been ruled out and the area was not under a flight path which
> accounted for the two likely culprits, they said.
>
> Inspector Paul Hume said the woman was home when she heard a crashing noise.
>
> "When she looked around she saw chunks of ice on her bathroom floor."
>
> He said police and the fire brigade found three broken tiles and a hole the
> ceiling.
>
> "There was hole in the ceiling above ... three house tiles were smashed."
>
> He said no-one was injured and estimated the ice ball would have weighed
> around one-and-a-half kilograms.
>
> "The ice ball was the size of an ice cream container and maybe one and a
> half kilos," he said.
>
> Police made inquiries with the duty forecaster at the weather bureau who
> ruled out any hail activity.
>
> Insp Hume said the only explanation seemed to be that the ice block fell
> from a plane.
>
> However, he added the area was not under a flight path.
>
> An Airservices Australia spokesman said it was "virtually impossible" that
> the ice had fallen from a plane.
>
> "For the ice to freeze on the aeroplane, it would have to be flying at a
> very high level," he said.
>
> Samples of the ice would be tested in an attempt to establish where it came
> from, police said.
>
>
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Received on Wed 07 Mar 2001 04:24:24 PM PST