Curiosities 9 – Blue Ice
João Henrique Barboza Jorgetto • Apr 04, 2023
In 2018, in a small village in India called Fazilpur Badli, an ice ball weighing approximately ten kilos fell from the sky at high speed and crashed into the ground, to the surprise of the locals. What would that be? A divine warning of punishment for sinners? An alien gift? A meteorite?
Many people were interested in the material and some collected pieces from the ground to take home, even keeping them in their refrigerators, thinking that it could have a financial or even mystical value.
What would be this supposedly frozen stone that caused all the uproar in the village? The response from aviation experts in India read: A blue ice!
Blue ice is small balls of ice formed by mixing human excrement (that is, number 1 and number 2) and a blue disinfectant that, due to a small leak in the drainage system or valve, accumulates in the lid outside the drainage system of the waste tanks, and then, with the very low temperature outside, they are frozen. In rare cases, these balls of frozen waste (which don't smell, as the material has already been treated with the disinfectant) may come loose when the plane prepares for landing, as the outside temperature normalizes.
A significant explanation is worth mentioning: contrary to what numerous articles say on the internet, it is impossible for the pilot to empty the waste tank during the flight. This only happens at the airport, in a specific process full of steps precisely to avoid problems in the air. The leaks that occur and can generate small ice balls are essentially the result of poor use of the bathrooms on the plane. Many people don't seem to understand those stickers explaining what can and cannot be thrown into the toilet and end up throwing cups, packaging and even diapers, which could damage the plane's evacuation system and generate small leaks in the valves.
Cases of blue ice, although rare, are well reported throughout history. According to Wikipedia, between 1997 and 2003, 27 incidents were documented in the United States, resulting in material losses. In the most common cases, damage to roofs is reported. But there are different cases, like Kenneth Hendy, who was almost hit by a piece of ice coming from the sky in Plymouth, England. He had just gotten out of his car when suddenly the windshield shattered. There are some unproven cases of injuries caused by this type of incident, such as the story of Rajrani Gaud, an Indian woman who had her shoulder injured by a blue sphere of ice coming from the sky, according to her "the size of a soccer ball," in Sagar district. The "object" first hit the roof and only fell on it, preventing further damage.