Blue ice (aircraft)

Blue ice in the context of aviation is the frozen material formed by leaks in commercial aircraft lavatory waste tanks, a mixture of human waste and liquid disinfectant that freezes at high altitude. The name comes from the blue color of the disinfectant, and is a sardonic reference to the Blue Ice line of products used for cooling ice chests and similar applications.

Airlines are not allowed to dump their waste tanks in mid-flight, and pilots have no mechanism by which to do so; however, leaks can occur. There were at least 27 documented incidents of blue ice impacts in the United States between 1979 and 2003. [cite news
first = Jondi
last = Gumz
title = Another mysterious chunk of blue ice hits
url = http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2003/February/12/local/stories/02local.htm
work = Santa Cruz Sentinel
date = February 12 2003
accessdate = 2007-01-04
quote = The Living in Everyday Earth Web site reports there have been at least 27 documented blue-ice incidents nationally in the past 24 years.] These incidents typically happen under airport landing paths as the mass warms sufficiently to detach from the plane during its descent. A rare incident of falling blue ice causing damage to the roof of a home was reported on October 20, 2006 in Chino, California. [cite news
author = Associated Press
authorlink = Associated Press
title = Toilet ice rips hole in couple's roof
url = http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/15816111.htm
work = San Jose Mercury News
date = October 21 2006
accessdate = 2007-01-04]

On January 28 2007 at the Timberlanes subdivision in Tampa, Florida, under the approach path to Tampa International Airport, a red Mustang automobile owned by Andres Javaze was struck by a large block of ice estimated at 50 pounds which crushed the rear of the vehicle. A neighbor named Raymond Rodriguez reported hearing a whistling or whizzing noise as the ice fell from the sky before impact and watched as it smashed the vehicle. However, the chunk of ice was not blue and is not thought to have fallen from an airplane. The incident is being investigated by the FAA.

Blue ice became known to many people from the last of the HBO series "Six Feet Under", in which a foot-sized chunk drops on an innocent bystander. It is also the title of a 1992 film where Michael Caine's character describes the concept of blue ice.

References

External links

*cite news
author = Mark Belko
title = The sky is falling? Uh, not exactly
url = http://www.post-gazette.com/neigh_north/20021121blueicenp3.asp
work = Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
date = November 21 2002
accessdate = 2007-01-04
*imdb title|id=0103848|title=Blue Ice|description=(1992)
*cite news
title = It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a block of ice?
url = http://baynews9.com/content/36/2007/1/28/219044.html?title=It's+a+bird,+it's+a+plane,+it's+a+block+of+ice?
work = Bay News 9.com
date = January 28 2007
*cite news
title = Frozen Jetliner Waste Smashes Into Home
url = http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/04/14/frozen_jetliner_waste_smashes_into_home/2265/
work = United Press International
date = April 14 2008