James and Flora Fleming were relaxing in the lounge of their home, The Gables at Barnhead, on the outskirts of Montrose yesterday when the ice meteor hit.They dashed outside to find five slates broken on the roof and the ice block lying shattered on their lawn.
A spokesman for the Met Office agreed ice cracking off an aircraft was the most likely explanation.
He said, “There have been instances in the past when things like this have happened.
“An aircraft flying through cloud will pick up moisture which can then freeze. As it descends it can de-ice and in this instance a block has dropped off.
“I have heard of this happen maybe 15 or 20 times.
“An ice meteor, as they are called, can be significantly larger than one square foot.
“But even at that size if it had hit anybody they wouldn’t be around to tell the tale, I can tell you that.”
Experts reckon a 5kg block falling from a plane at around 1000 feet would plummet to earth at a speed of around 250mph.
No one was available for comment from the Civil Aviation Authority.
Source: The Courier
Tags: Giant | Cubes
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