AN INVESTIGATION has been launched after an aircraft flying over a Southampton house caused tiles to lift off the roof and smash into a car.

Rosemary Bull's Daewoo Matiz was left with a puncture mark in the roof after slates from a neighbour's home came crashing down after being shifted by a vortex from a plane.

About a dozen tiles were lifted from Della Gritt's detached property in Halstead Road in Bitterne Park about 4.35pm yesterday.

Southampton Airport chiefs have apologised to both women and are launching an investigation.

Mother-of-two Mrs Bull said: "We always get a lot of noise from aircraft but this seemed even louder than normal. If the tiles had hit someone on the head they would have been knocked out or even worse."

The 38-year-old was alerted when she heard a loud bang from the road and went outside to discover the slates had hit her car.

A six-month trial was launched at the airport last month by introducing alternative take-off and landing procedures to try to reduce noise levels.

However, airport bosses said yesterday's incident was not related and was caused by the weather conditions.

Mary Finch, chairman of the Airport Pressure Group, said she had known of about seven similar incidents since the organisation was launched in 1989.

She added: "They say it's a rare occurrence but it is a worry because you don't know when it's going to happen or where.

"This is the first time I've actually witnessed it for myself because I was out in my front garden.

"The aircraft went over and, as normal, you could hear the vortex but this vortex was different because it was so loud and it seemed to swirl like a whirlwind and then there was a bang like an explosion.

"All of a sudden the slates came up into the air."

Airport managing director David Cumming said: "Firstly, I would like to apologise for any concern and inconvenience this has caused to the people involved.

"As soon as we received notification of this incident, a member of Southampton Airport's management team visited the home owner and the car owner. We immediately arranged for the roof to be repaired and for an independent vortex expert to visit the home and assess the damage to the roof.

"We have also talked to the owner of the car and have arranged for the damage to be rectified. Vortices are currents of air which can be generated by an aircraft's wing. They only occur in certain and very specific calm weather conditions.

"These air currents can, on very rare occasions, dislodge roof tiles.

"I would like to reassure people living very close to Southampton Airport that this is a very unusual occurrence and we have in place a process to deal with this situation should it arise.

"We are in discussions with the airline concerned and we will be talking to the aircraft manufacturer about this issue."