WHITTIER, Calif. — Federal officials have launched an investigation following a bizarre incident where a sizeable chunk of ice descended from the sky, crashing through the roof of a Whittier home and landing squarely on a couch.
The unexpected event has left the homeowner grappling with the aftermath, as described by Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn. The resident, Yuder Grau, was startled by a noise reminiscent of an explosion, only to find a gaping hole in his ceiling and a dirty mass of ice settled in his living room.
Photos shared by Hahn reveal the damage, showcasing the large ice block that punched through the roof and came to rest on the couch. Remarkably, despite the dramatic intrusion, no injuries were reported.
The incident occurred just after 11:15 a.m. on April 10. Homeowner Thania Manga, curious about the origins of the mysterious ice, examined flight data. Her investigation revealed that an aircraft was indeed flying over the neighborhood at the time when the icy projectile made its unwelcome descent.
Situated under the flight path for Los Angeles International Airport landings, the home experiences frequent aircraft flyovers. Data from Flightradar24 confirmed several planes were in the vicinity around the time of the incident, with flights passing overhead roughly every three minutes.
The home is under the Los Angeles International Airport landing approach. Data from Flightradar24 shows there were planes flying over the house around the time of the incident, and there is a plane over the house approximately every 3 minutes.
Now, Hahn is requesting a thorough and timely Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) investigation into the bizarre incident.
“We are lucky that Yuder was not in his living room when this block of ice crashed through his ceiling,” she said. “I am bringing this incident to the attention of the FAA because they need to investigate what happened and take whatever steps necessary to prevent it from happening again.”
On Tuesday, Hahn sent a letter to FAA Deputy Administrator Chris Rocheleau, demanding the investigation take place.
The owner of the home says she submitted a formal complaint to the FAA and is saving the ice in a freezer bag for the investigation. The gaping hole in the ceiling has since been patched up.
“We definitely want to know what it consists of and if it’s going to affect our health. Secondly, we understand if it is an airplane or something of the fact, that we understand why it happens, because even right now as we’re speaking, there’s a plane over us and it’s scary,” Manga said.
Manga noted that the ice has a bad smell, and she is somewhat concerned that she touched the ice and doesn’t know what it consists of.
At this time, the exact origin of the ice is unknown.
The FAA said it is investigating, and that the agency investigates every report it receives alleging ice fell from an airplane and damaged property.
ABC News contributed to this report.
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