--- title: "Large Chunk of Ice Smashes Through Family’s Roof" description: "Ice occasionally falls from the sky in New Jersey — but typically not in June, and typically not from planes." date: "2024-06-17" modified: "2024-06-17" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/large-ice-chunk-roof-nj" categories: - "Future Society" tags: - "FAA" - "ice" - "planes" - "the digest" --- # Large Chunk of Ice Smashes Through Family’s Roof ![Ice occasionally falls from the sky in New Jersey — but typically not in June, and typically not from planes.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## DOOSH Warrior Ice [occasionally falls from the sky in New Jersey]() — but typically not in the month of June, and typically not from planes. As the [local outlet *News 12* reports](), the Gomez family of the Newark suburb of Paterson was enjoying a summer evening in their yard when they heard a giant crash. "Out of nowhere you just hear a hollow sound coming down and honestly we didn’t think anything of it and then you just hear a big DOOOOSH!" Sabrina Gomez recounted in an interview with the broadcaster. That big "doosh" was apparently the sound of a giant block of ice crashing into the family's roof — less than 12 feet away from where they were sitting, no less. As [photos]() and [video]() from the incident show, the ice smashed straight through, leaving extensive damage to the house but thankfully not to any person. As it turns out, the Gomez family home is under multiple flight paths for nearby airports Newark Liberty International, John F. Kennedy and LaGuardia. While rare, this [phenomenon occurs]() when ice built up on plane wings at higher and colder altitudes begins to melt upon the descent into warmer air. https://www.twitter.com/News12NJ/status/1801585594075611479 ## Ice Cometh All the same, this is the first time anything like this has happened to the family, or seemingly in North Jersey. In an interview with Omar Baez, the owner of the NYC-area contractor Mega Home Remodeling, this is the first time in his five years of business that he's ever seen anything like what happened to the Gomezes. "I always get called for trees, hail damage, wind damage, shingles flying off the roof," Baez told *New 12*, "but never what we see here." The contractor did some research and found that although [ice blocks]() do [occasionally fall]() from planes, it's not at all common. "You have to be one of the real ones for it to happen," Baez said of the damage, which is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and which may require the Gomezes to get a new roof entirely. Notably, the Paradise family in the South Jersey town of Marlton [experienced a similar horror]() back in December 2021. In that case, both a mother and her baby were inside the house, though they too were lucky enough to get out with little more than shaken nerves. All told, the Gomez family seems to be taking the situation in stride. "If I could tell the story to anyone else," Paul Gomez laughingly told the news station, "they wouldn’t believe me." **More on weird plane behavior:** [*Flames Shoot From Boeing Jet's Engines With 389 Passengers on Board*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()