An unusual accident took place in Lithuania on Saturday – a huge piece of ice fell from the sky in the Šilale district in the north of the country, the media “15min” reports.
An eyewitness heard a strange whistling sound, as if a bomb was falling, while washing a tractor in the town of Visjauga.
He looked up into the sky and saw a white object falling down. The frightened man ran to hide behind the tractor. After a while, he dared to approach the fallen object.
It turned out to be a huge piece of ice that had melted when it hit the ground.
a post about this event on the “Facebook” website suggests that a passenger plane flying from Edinburgh to Kaunas is responsible. Checking the flight data at the indicated time, it became clear that the specific aircraft was in the sky above this area at that time.
“This is a dangerous phenomenon called ‘blue ice.’
It occurs when frozen water (or other debris) leaks from the aircraft’s plumbing system. Although such incidents are rare and unheard of in Lithuania, they can endanger people and damage property on the ground. Elsewhere in the world, similar chunks of ice have caused damage to roofs, cars, etc. In theory, such a piece of ice could seriously injure or even kill a person,” the report explained.
It also notes that between 1979 and 2003, only 27 cases of “blue ice” were recorded in the United States. “I have never heard of it in Lithuania,” says the author of the post.
“Blue ice” forms on the outside of an airplane during flight when its waste collection system’s tank is not sufficiently hermetically sealed. As the aircraft begins to descend before landing and enters an area of warmer air, the ice may begin to melt and separate from the aircraft.
Blue ice. Photo: “facebook”/OraiIrKlimatasLT
