I cheated death when block of ice fell 4,000ft from a plane and smashed through my roof – I was left with £12k bill
A WOMAN cheated death when a block of ice fell from 4,000ft from a plane and smashed through her roof.
Carla George, 45, was on a work call when she heard a deafening bang in what turned out to be a “million to one” freak accident.
She initially thought heavy boxes must have fallen in the attic at her home in Banbury, Oxon.
But when she went to investigate she realised she could see blue sky – and found a large block of ice on the floor.
Carla, a field researcher, called the fire brigade – who told her it was caused by ice falling from a plane most likely coming in to land at Heathrow Airport.
She has been quoted £12,000 to fix the roof.
Carla said: “I was working in my office room and I heard a loud bang.
“I thought it was boxes falling, but the ceiling had completely come apart.
“There was ice everywhere and I was confused where it had come from – it was like something from a movie.
“I was in shock. My neighbour rang the doorbell and said, ‘Do you know there’s a hole in the roof?’.
Carla said of the September 12 freak incident: “We do have planes flying over. I thought it was some sort of explosion.”
Her roof, temporarily covered over with a tarpaulin sheet, will need a full repair.
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 didn’t hit any other rooms and there were no injuries – just me being shocked and trying to process the whole thing.”
Oxfordshire firefighters confirmed they were called to Carla’s home to assess the hole caused by a large lump of ice which had fallen from the sky.
Last night retired Concorde pilot captain John Hutchinson, 86, said “ice falls” are an occasional hazard.
He said: “It’s not the first time it’s happened, that’s for sure.
“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 most likely scenario is water in the undercarriage bay when the aircraft took off formed into ice and would stay as a block of ice whilst cruising at 35,000ft.
“And as the airplane came into land at 3,000ft or 4,000ft, the undercarriage would be down and the ice would fall out.”
John, who flew planes from 1955 to 1992, said: “Blocks of ice do fall from airplanes.”
The Civil Aviation Authority also confirmed that “ice falls” from planes can happen.