New Jersey

NJ family nearly crushed when massive ice chunk seemingly falls from plane, tears through home

Published

9 months ago

June 14, 2024

NJ family nearly crushed when massive ice chunk seemingly falls from plane, tears through home

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A New Jersey family was nearly crushed when a massive chunk of ice seemingly fell off a plane and crashed through the roof of their suburban home on Wednesday.

The frightening scene happened around 9:30 p.m. in Paterson, NJ when the Gomez family was seated at their backyard table less than 12 feet away from the impact zone, according to News 12 New Jersey.

“Out of nowhere, you just hear a hollow sound coming down, and honestly, we didn’t think anything of it, and then you just hear a big DOOOOSH!” Sabrina Gomez told the outlet.

Security footage from the backyard shows the family jumping out of their seats when they heard the chunk of ice plummet down to earth.

“It was big stones…I guess it was a big square. When it came down it smashed everything,” Paul Gomez said.

The Gomez’s home sits directly underneath several flight paths, according to the outlet.

“When we look up, it’s basically like a plane flying by,” said Sabrina Gomez.

The family then rushed to the front of their house, where they took a video of pieces of ice spread out all over the driveway.

“Honestly, it was a little terrifying, but thank God it didn’t hit anybody, and it hit the floor. It hit the roof thank God,” Sabrina Gomez shared.

The damage from the block of ice was so severe that they may need an entirely new roof.

Nobody was harmed when the ice came hurdling down onto their home.

The family filed a claim with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to investigate the ice they believed fell from a plane passing overhead.

The chilling incident comes nearly a year after a chunk of ice weighing between 15 and 20 pounds struck a Massachusetts home, according to The Associated Press.

Jeff Ilg and his wife, Amelia Rainville, were sitting in their home in Shirley when the block of ice came crashing through their roof in August 2023.

“We heard an explosion, basically,” Ilg said. “The loudest pop, bang I’ve ever heard.”

Ilgs bolted upstairs to check on their children, who somehow stayed asleep through the noise.

He then ran outside, seeing a giant block of ice on his back step and debris scattered around the backyard and roof.

Ilg grabbed a flashlight and began searching for damage but found no damage until he spotted the hole in the roof.

He then went up to his attic where he found another chuck of the ice.

“Sure enough, it was in there, and it was big,” Ilg told the outlet, saying the impact on the outside of their home was about 18 inches to 2 feet in size.

The couple assumed it fell from an airplane traveling to Boston Logan International Airport — which is about 47 miles away from their home.

Airplanes can ice up due to supercooled water, an unstable liquid that freezes when it hits an aircraft in the sky, according to the FAA.

“This can happen when an aircraft flies near the top of a cold air mass beneath a layer of warm air, such as during freezing rain ahead of a warm front in winter. As the aircraft flies through the warm, moist air that’s been sucked up into the cold, it hits the supercooled water in liquid form, which then freezes on the leading edges of the plane.”

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New Jersey

New Jersey City University, with declining enrollment, to merge with Kean University

Published

2 hours ago

March 6, 2025

Press Room

New Jersey City University, with declining enrollment, to merge with Kean University

2-minute read

Kean University brought forward the proposal to turn the two New Jersey colleges into one university under “Kean Jersey City.”
“Just two years ago, New Jersey City University was on the brink of collapse,” Hudson County Executive Craig Guy said.

Two New Jersey universities took a step toward merging together on Wednesday. The New Jersey City University (NJCU) board of trustees voted to move forward with Kean University’s proposal to combine the schools, according to a statement from the Kean University President Lamont Repollet.

Kean University brought forward the proposal to turn the two New Jersey colleges into one university under “Kean Jersey City.”

Steps still need to be taken to finalize the merger, as both schools must “begin the process of memorializing the terms and conditions of a potential partnership on or before March 31, 2025,” said the NJCU Board of Trustees.

Kean University said they will work with NJCU to “negotiate a letter of intent” over the next several weeks in order to complete the combination of school.

The proposed idea came from Kean University. The school’s reasoning for the merger is included in a detailed 60-page proposal envisioning “Kean Jersey City.”

“The merger aims to build a stronger, more resilient institution that not only preserves but also significantly amplifies both universities’ core strengths and enduring missions,” said the issued statement from Kean University. “It will focus on creating robust pathways for social mobility, providing students from underserved populations with the tools, resources and opportunities they need to achieve economic success and contribute to their communities.”

The proposal outlines how faculty, athletes, enrollment management and finance will be handled in the merger, but in a very general sense. There was no mention of faculty layoffs in the 60-page proposal.

NJCU, a smaller state school compared to other universities in New Jersey, has seen a decrease in enrollment over the years as their current undergraduate enrollment for 2024 was 3,871, where it was 6,508 in 2017. The school was previously Jersey City State College.

“Just two years ago, New Jersey City University was on the brink of collapse,” Hudson County Executive Craig Guy said in a statement. “But their merger with Kean University ensures the educational institute can continue providing residents in Hudson County and Jersey City the opportunity to attend an affordable four-year college.”

Kean, located in Union, Elizabeth, and Hillside, said it achieved an enrollment of 18,000 students in 2024.

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