Oakland Ice Chunk

Does anybody have pictures of these chunks? Did anybody test the composition? Was it pure water? or could it be comet material? Is there any newsprint on this? Any comments from people like Caltech, astronomers, other scientific groups?

Obviously, this is detritus from airplane toilets, known in the trade as "icey BMs"

No pictures but they did have this to say about one found in Brazil.
"In the late 1990s, when a huge, 400-pound chunk crashed through the roof of a Mercedes-Benz factory in Southern Brazil, U.S. defense scientists analyzed it for signs of cosmic origin. The water's isotopic signature indicated the ice ball was terrestrial, with the water coming from temperate latitudes. Beyond that, tests were inconclusive."
So I think they would have known if it was from BM and they definitely know it wasn't cosmic in origin.

The famous "blue ice" from the bathroom is only half the water on board an aircraft. There is also a supply tank. A 400 pound chunk is just slightly more than 50 gallons. My vote is aircraft with leaky tanks. These chunks show none of the shapes you would expect from an atmospheric event.

I would like to see the article that is refered to in these comments, Which paper, or ? Can I get a reprint or a link to ? By the way, someone posted that a certain time and date were very interesting : ( 01h,02',03" 04/05/06 ) but I got a better one for the future : 12h,34'56" 7/8/9 !!!!!

Not "Blue Ice" from toilets. This ice was clear according to the article. Having flown as a crewmember on the C-9A, the Air Force version of the DC-9 airliner, I would say it would be very easy for ice to build up on various parts of the airframe. Why are larger chunks falling now and were not noticed before? Perhaps the greater use of composite materials, which do not conduct heat as well as aluminum have something to do with the larger buildup. Also, aircraft design has changed somewhat with many small "winglets" and other surfaces added, designed to reduce turbulence and thereby increase fuel efficiency. If turbulence normally helped clear ice buildup and now that turbulence is gone or reduced, and more 90 degree corners have been added, ice could certainly build up to larger pieces before breaking off. Just a few thoughts. There could be many more explanations.

Another is that long delays on the ground mean that cabin A/C must run more to keep the air cool. This means a lot of condensate (pure water) is being collected. Smaller, intermediate range jets make more frequent stops, collecting more condensate, and probably venting their condensate in flight (an automatic system no doubt). Random selection of venting location in the aircraft design could produce a stream of cold water aimed directly at a pre-existing ice buildup, and voila', 400 lb. chunks of ice breaking off in flight!

I agree with the ice fallen from an aircraft which traveling through the right conditions will "snowball" into an even large ball of ice, especially if fallen in a jet stream or turbulent cumulonimbus (large storm) cloud that can reach up to 75K feet.

Yep. I agree too,

Looks like another ice chunk fell in California this weekend. A "microwave oven" sized chunk smashed through a rec center roof.

Reports of large chunks of ice falling from the sky date back to before airplanes. I believe the common theory is that they can form in storm updrafts, which can have winds of over 200 mph. A chunk of ice could fall out of the top of a thunderhead. Get caught and sucked back up again, over and over, with it growing in size each time.

People and buildings are more widely spread about the earth and such phenomena are more likely to be observed and reported than perhaps a century or so ago. What I would like to know is how do they weigh them. They must shatter when they hit with the pieces melting pretty quickly. How are the observers so prescient and motivated to scrounge up the debris, weigh it, save it etc.

They tend to happen in a certain area over a short period of time. They miss the first one but they are able to save the later ones.
Not sure how they don't smash into a billion pieces through. 200 lbs at @50mph would leave a pretty good crater though.

Is it possible they are created in storms like hail is and then pushed into sub-orbit by the updrafts creating them? thus causing them to "crash" miles away from where they are created?

Some ice blocks weigh more than 100 and 200 kg (Brazil, China). Would it be logical to have 200 kg of ice on an aircraft due to icing? Is there any scientific reference of icing processes with these dimensions and weights? Do you know the story of the human hailstone? http://www.toytips.com/sc_hail.lasso

As scientists don't have a good explanation, the best option is to say this is not happening!! It is imnpossible that huge blocks of ice are falling from clear sky... There is no crater in Oakland, nothing fell in Loma Linda... Thus, we all are happy!!