Multiple bird strike event with a happy ending (except for the birds).

[cnoe]

Disclaimer: Animals were harmed in the making of this post. Graphic images are included and may not be suitable for all viewers.

 

For the record you won't find many people with a softer heart than me when it comes to animals. My wife and I take our 100# dog on every trip we take. Just last month he surpassed 400 hours of Mooney time; I'm pretty sure the CFI who conducted my last BFR had less than 400 hours. Hell, I'd take our cat along too if I didn't value the leather seats so much.

Anyway... I was making a "cheap fuel run" the other day (anybody remember cheap fuel?) and had just pushed the plane back into my t-hangar when I noticed a bloody mess on the starboard (that's "right" for you landlubbers) wing just outboard of the stall-strip. I thought to myself "that's weird; I don't remember hitting anything" as I inspected the leading edge for damage. Luckily there appeared to be virtually NO damage other than the blood/guts/feathers and perhaps a small chip in the paint. I'm not even sure about the paint damage, after all it's a plane that hasn't been painted in years. So I got out the wash bucket and got to work. In short order things were all cleaned up and I grabbed the pitot-tube cover to install when I noticed an even BIGGER mess on the leading edge of the port wing further out towards the wingtip. Yuck! Again I looked for damage and found none. Before cleaning things up I considered that it might be appropriate to file a bird-strike report with the FAA so I quickly checked the iPad for the relevant information. I was surprised to find that not only did they want a report, they also requested that bird remains be sent to the Smithsonian for positive ID. So I grabbed a ziplock bag and deposited a fair amount of the carcass for the good folks in D.C. to examine. That evening I dutifully submitted my report and prepared to ship out the poor dead bird.

Later I shared pics and details with a few close friends who commented that similar to the old idiom I had "killed two birds with one Mooney". Bear in mind that these particular individuals do not make their living as stand-up comedians. By this time it was obvious to me that these birds had pretty much exploded on impact and obviously weren't vultures, pelicans, or anything else of significant size. I'm certainly a fan of the near-indestructible Mooney wing but smacking into a bird of significant size at 150 knots would surely inflict more damage than what I experienced. Additionally, nobody could believe that I'd plowed through these buggers with two direct hits on my wings without noticing a thing. Not a sound, not a bump, nothing. Truthfully I was just glad they didn't hit the windscreen 'cause even though I doubt they'd have punctured it I'm pretty sure it would have startled the crap out of me.

Now the plot thickens just a little more... Two days later I arrived at the hangar with my wife and canine unit for a 3-hour flight to visit family. During the pre-flight inspection I got to the part where I peer into the cowling air-inlets at the engine and, son-of-a-bitch, there was ANOTHER bird carcass splattered on the front of cylinder #2 with feathers strewn beyond. This one had obviously passed through the propeller arc untouched (no marks were on the prop at all) and entered the cowling. I informed my wife of the situation and then began removing the top cowl while her and the pup chilled in the car. Again I found lots of bird remains with essentially no damage. There was blood and feathers on the cooling fins, injector lines (which I inspected VERY thoroughly), spark plugs, and plug wires on the left side of the engine. And the oil cooler was well covered in feathers. About a half-hour of shop-vac and cleaning-brush work had things back in order and after a quick ground-run I reinstalled the cowl and off we went. No issues.

I wanted to wait until the remains were identified before I wrote this up and the results showed up a couple of days ago. So the birds were... (drumroll please)... Setophaga magnolias, aka Magnolia Warblers. In my favor they're dainty little things ranging from 6-15 grams (a half-ounce at most), so there was obviously no need to land on the Hudson. There's also little chance that Tom Hanks will be making a movie about my experience. I don't know the exact physics involved but I'm quite certain that when a 15 gram bird collides with a 1 million gram airplane traveling at 250 feet per second the result is inevitable. RIP little warblers.

I'm not sure there's any moral to the story other than to say that you won't necessarily recognize that you've experienced such a strike. Also, report it; the process is easy and it's pretty cool having the bird identified. Apparently researchers gain valuable information from these reports and perhaps it will help spare a few planes and birds in the future.

CNoe

 

[201er]

Don’t be coming anywhere near my birds at Oshkosh with that thing!!! 

Thanks for taking the time to write up and share the details. Do you have any guess as to what altitude it could have occurred at?

[Ragsf15e]

Sad for the warblers, but happy you found just the right sized guys to end up with zero damage!  I’ve see a hole through a leading edge of an Air Force plane, F-15E downed by a vulture, and a pelican took out a C-172 and killed 3 people in Eastern Washington (nowhere near the ocean).

Good job going through the process.

[cnoe]

2 hours ago, 201er said:

Don’t be coming anywhere near my birds at Oshkosh with that thing!!! 

Thanks for taking the time to write up and share the details. Do you have any guess as to what altitude it could have occurred at?

I thought of you right away when writing this up Mike. Condolences.

It was a ~40 minute (gulf) coastal flight cruising at 4,500’ and I truly don’t know whether the strike was during climb-out, cruise, or descent. I assume they were in a small flock but didn’t see a single one.

From what I’ve read this species is not native to Texas and was likely migrating between Mexico/Central America to the northern U.S. or Canada. They’re apparently a non-endangered population.

CNoe

 

[Pinecone]

I hit a cattle egret with an A-10 in training.   They are bit larger than a warblers, more like 4 POUNDS.

Right after liftoff, the bird almost hit the canopy, but did an emergency slice back (roll 135 degrees and pull, sort of a downward chandelle), but managed to then hit the slat between the fuselage and gear pod.  I could see the imprint of the bird.  Hmm, the slat exists to smooth airflow into the engine at high AOA, like take off.  So I figured the bird went into the right engine.

The only engine gauge anomaly was that the right fan speed was 2 - 3% below the left engine at the same core speed. 

Went around the pattern, using a single engine profile, just in case and landed no problem.

the bird had gone through the engine.  The lower fan speed was due to back pressure as the bird had foldup up the sheet metal into the fan dust about 1/4 of the circumference.  And the seam where the panel opens, looked like it had a feather skirt, as the bird feathers were sticking out of the seam.

Total damage was two fan blades and some sheet metal.

[Shadrach]

Mooney wing vs drone vs bird. 

 

 

[Yetti]

I have seen and used to have pictures of a turkey vulture through the wind screen.   The pilots were bloody faces.   People worry about a drone, but you get pretty good at missing vultures around south east texas.   Usually a wing rise on that side.   (remember birds dive) or some other yank of the controls.

[steingar]

13 hours ago, 201er said:

Don’t be coming anywhere near my birds at Oshkosh with that thing!!! 

Thanks for taking the time to write up and share the details. Do you have any guess as to what altitude it could have occurred at?

Bring those birds to the show and I'll buy beer.  That'd be cool.

[Bartman]

 On March 18 2019 we were returning from KJWN after the SEC Men’s BB Tournament. John C Tune is in a bend in the river and there was freezing fog that day and my wings were covered in ice and took some time to remove, but the point is it was cold. As I lifted off I noticed some birds beside the runway. We cruised in clear cold air and when we landed I found this frozen stowaway. 

This is a real photo and you can’t make this up. 
 

 

[BobbyH]

2 hours ago, Yetti said:

People worry about a drone, but you get pretty good at missing vultures around south east texas. 

Up here in the Northwest we get to fly with the eagles, literally bald eagles.  On one approach to KRNT from over Lake Washington, an eagle was fishing below me off to my port side when without clearance from the tower it decided to transition right into my flight path on short final.  Luckily I was able to pull up and hop over it with stall warning blaring and full throttle.  Pulled throttle back and landed a little long with a little extra adrenaline on board.  So between the eagles, Canadian geese, wild turkeys, sea gulls, pelicans and the smaller aviators, we do have our hands full.  I'm glad @cnoe you had no damage.  It happens quick and usually without warning. 

Fly safe out there!

Bob

[BobbyH]

8 hours ago, Shadrach said:

Mooney wing vs drone vs bird. 

@Shadrach great video, good information for me.  We have many drones in this area too. 

[N201MKTurbo]

I was washing the plane once and noticed a hole in the front of the little fairing for the lower gear doors. On closer examination it was full of bird.

[Hank]

Somewhere back in the day, early in MS history, someone posted a story with photos of a turbulent approach to landing. Upon exiting his Mooney, a good was embedded in the leading edge of the vertical stab, one leg dangling on each side--the bird was hit squarely from behind.

I think the poster said he didn't notice much wrong until he saw the bird ousted a foot into the tail, and the blood running back on both sides . . . .

[201Mooniac]

You might be referring to Scott Cutler who hit a goose in the pattern and luckily landed safely.  Lots of damage to the vertical stabilizer

[EricJ]

A buddy came to pick me up in his Cherokee.    I said, "I think you hit something."

 

[carusoam]

Great pirep Chuck!

Nice to see you again!

Best regards,

-a-

[Rjfanjet]

Nerd moment. Snarge is the official FAA word for remains of a bird strike.

[haymak3r]

On 6/14/2022 at 7:44 AM, BobbyH said:

Up here in the Northwest we get to fly with the eagles, literally bald eagles.  On one approach to KRNT from over Lake Washington, an eagle was fishing below me off to my port side when without clearance from the tower it decided to transition right into my flight path on short final.  Luckily I was able to pull up and hop over it with stall warning blaring and full throttle.  Pulled throttle back and landed a little long with a little extra adrenaline on board.  So between the eagles, Canadian geese, wild turkeys, sea gulls, pelicans and the smaller aviators, we do have our hands full.  I'm glad @cnoe you had no damage.  It happens quick and usually without warning. 

Fly safe out there!

Bob

Can confirm, this is an almost daily occurrence for us at keug.. red tailed hawks like to hang out near the thresholds at both ends of both runways. It's great fun.. lol.

[Hank]

1 hour ago, haymak3r said:

Can confirm, this is an almost daily occurrence for us at keug.. red tailed hawks like to hang out near the thresholds at both ends of both runways. It's great fun.. lol.

I'm used to avoiding flocks of turkey buzzards circling over the approach end of the runway . . .

[haymak3r]

It was a lot of fun having to worry about them when I was early in my training. But now Im used to it. No matter where I go. I am almost more worried about birds than manmade birds

[Fly Boomer]

43 minutes ago, haymak3r said:

I am almost more worried about birds than manmade birds

Know of anything that encourages them (the feathered kind) to get out of the way?  Lights?  Prop tips near the speed of sound?

[Rjfanjet]

9 minutes ago, Fly Boomer said:

Know of anything that encourages them (the feathered kind) to get out of the way?  Lights?  Prop tips near the speed of sound?

The spiral looking white on the spinner of turbine engines is supposed to help. Don't know about GA though.

[EricJ]

8 hours ago, Fly Boomer said:

Know of anything that encourages them (the feathered kind) to get out of the way?  Lights?  Prop tips near the speed of sound?

Usually they can hear you, especially if you add a little power.   They're usually pretty situationally aware unless they're actively tracking/hunting something, then they get tunnel vision.

One of the airports I go to frequently has a number of hawks/raptors/etc. that hang around the runway, and they always get out of the way, but often just barely, like, yeah, yeah, I know you're there...