Post by Paddy by Grace on Mar 16, 2010 18:39:02 GMT -7
Transport Canada investigating reports of 'blue ice' falling from the sky
www.montrealgazette.com/news/Transport+Canada+investigating+reports+blue+falling+from/2638483/story.html
VANCOUVER — Transport Canada investigators on Wednesday were still trying to determine the source of two pieces of falling ice, one of which crashed into a home in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond late last month damaging a patio roof.
The other landed near a man and his young son in their driveway.
Transport Canada official Rod Nelson said investigators were trying to determine if the ice was "blue ice" caused by a malfunction in an aircraft's lavatory system, or ice that had built up on a wing or fuselage before coming dislodged.
Two flights, one an Air Canada plane and the other WestJet, passed over the Bridgeport area before the ice began falling on homes there on Feb. 21.
A Transport Canada report on the incident said the ice fell just before noon, and a 14-by-10-inch piece of ice, reported to have a blue tint, landed near a man and his son who were in their driveway.
A second piece hit and damaged an awning on a neighbour's house.
According to the report, both air carriers had checked their aircraft for problems.
"Right now we don't know what the ice is," Nelson said.
"If it's found to be blue ice, we will attempt to determine what carrier was involved and take the appropriate action," he said.
Blue ice can form when there's a leak in the discharge valve of an aircraft's sewage system, he said.
In the past 11 years, there have been 66 reports of blue ice falling from aircraft in Canada, Nelson said.
www.montrealgazette.com/news/Transport+Canada+investigating+reports+blue+falling+from/2638483/story.html
VANCOUVER — Transport Canada investigators on Wednesday were still trying to determine the source of two pieces of falling ice, one of which crashed into a home in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond late last month damaging a patio roof.
The other landed near a man and his young son in their driveway.
Transport Canada official Rod Nelson said investigators were trying to determine if the ice was "blue ice" caused by a malfunction in an aircraft's lavatory system, or ice that had built up on a wing or fuselage before coming dislodged.
Two flights, one an Air Canada plane and the other WestJet, passed over the Bridgeport area before the ice began falling on homes there on Feb. 21.
A Transport Canada report on the incident said the ice fell just before noon, and a 14-by-10-inch piece of ice, reported to have a blue tint, landed near a man and his son who were in their driveway.
A second piece hit and damaged an awning on a neighbour's house.
According to the report, both air carriers had checked their aircraft for problems.
"Right now we don't know what the ice is," Nelson said.
"If it's found to be blue ice, we will attempt to determine what carrier was involved and take the appropriate action," he said.
Blue ice can form when there's a leak in the discharge valve of an aircraft's sewage system, he said.
In the past 11 years, there have been 66 reports of blue ice falling from aircraft in Canada, Nelson said.