The damage left behind was quite noticeable: a huge hole several feet wide in their attic roof. NBC New York’s Pat Battle reports.
A New Jersey family was left dealing with a hole in their roof after a large chunk of ice fell from the sky — but it wasn't hail.
They believe it came from a plane.
As he and his family were having dinner on the deck in their backyard, a huge block of ice came crashing through the roof of Paul Gomez's home in Paterson Wednesday night. He said the repeating booms sounded "like a helicopter."
The damage left behind was quite noticeable: a huge hole several feet wide in their attic roof. Neighbors' houses could be visible in photos the family took after running inside to see what had happened.
"I mean it just it looked like an iceberg. That’s how big it was," said Gomez, who estimated the the chunk was about 300 pounds.
Gomez's daughter Selina said "it went through the roof, the second floor the ceiling and cracked the ceiling on the second floor."
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
Gomez said he bought the home on 38th Street just four months ago. At that time, he didn't know they were living in a flight path to Newark Liberty International Airport.
News
"We know now!" he told NBC New York.
Fortunately, no one was hurt in the incident. And with planes coming and going every 20 minutes or so, the family has an idea or a guess as to what may have been in that big chunk of blue ice.
Let's just say, it's best no one had to touch it.
"They said it was bathroom stuff. It could’ve been the bathroom stuff," said Selina.
Gomez said he spoke to the Federal Aviation Administration, which said they would send someone out to investigate the damage. He estimated it would cost more than $20,000 to repair the roof. He also talked to his insurance company, who felt similarly to how he did.
"They still don't believe it, but we're working on it," said Gomez.
