Bird Strikes to Lame? How about Fish Strike!

I've thought about what might happen if a bird and I were to collide in flight. How about running into a fish?

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fish-str...ir-force-base/

Ray

On Thursday, March 6, 2014 12:36:42 PM UTC-5, rlovinggood wrote:
I've thought about what might happen if a bird and I were to collide in flight. How about running into a fish?



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fish-str...ir-force-base/



Ray

We have a "6th Air Mobility Wing Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard contractor"?

T8

On Thursday, March 6, 2014 10:36:42 AM UTC-7, rlovinggood wrote:
I've thought about what might happen if a bird and I were to collide in flight. How about running into a fish?



http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fish-str...ir-force-base/



Ray

IIRC, an Alaska Airlines jet hit a fish when taking off from Juneau. They had frightened a Bald Eagle into dropping its catch. It left a clear fish-shaped dent in the skin just behind the side cockpit window. The flight safely returned to Juneau.

On Thursday, March 6, 2014 12:52:00 PM UTC-7, Bill D wrote:
On Thursday, March 6, 2014 10:36:42 AM UTC-7, rlovinggood wrote:

I've thought about what might happen if a bird and I were to collide in flight. How about running into a fish?

In the summer of 2006 at the Val Air Gliderport in Durango, CO we had an osprey struggling to fly over the runway dive bombed by an eagle and dropped the heavy trout it was trying to carry away from a nearby fishing pond. The sleek fish lawn darted into the runway just ahead of the tow plane pulling a glider. No air strike by a fish, but a close one anyway. That made for some flying fish comments that evening.





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/fish-str...ir-force-base/







Ray



IIRC, an Alaska Airlines jet hit a fish when taking off from Juneau. They had frightened a Bald Eagle into dropping its catch. It left a clear fish-shaped dent in the skin just behind the side cockpit window. The flight safely returned to Juneau.

A bit off topic but related - I took my sister for flight several years ago and was telling her about the the various birds I encounter while flying, with Red Tails and Osprey being the most common. I noted that I'd never seen a Bald Eagle. They exist in southern New Jersey but aren't exactly common, at least not near my home airport. Sure enough, about fifteen minutes later I saw a large bird crossing in front of us just below our altitude of about 2000' AGL. I caught up to it and it was a mature Bald Eagle with a large fish in it's talons. The nearest water was a lake about five miles behind the bird. That was one of the cooler things this sport has provided me.

Originally Posted by Evan Ludeman[_4_]

We have a "6th Air Mobility Wing Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard contractor"?

T8

Yep. Most USAF bases with runways have a BASH program and some kind of BASH contractors. They do all sorts of things like monitor the height the grass should be cut and kept at, falconers to fly raptors to scare off other birds, noise making to scare birds, collecting and analysing bird strike remains, posting bird migration routes and times, etc.

All kinds of stuff to reduce bird impact hazards to aircraft...