Two snow geese were sucked into both engines of an Airbus 319 in November of 2009. The #2 engine lost power and the plane made an emergency landing. It cost $2.7 million to repair. (credit: B. Johnson/wildlife.faa.gov)
Bird Strikes
An Embraer 120 struck a white pelican at 2,600 feet above ground level after departure from an airport in Utah on July 31, 2009. The plane landed safely but required $150,000 in repairs. (credit: G Rokich/wildlife.faa.gov)
bird 2
A western grebe penetrated the windshield and injured the pilot of this Beechcraft 99 at about 6,800 feet on approach to an Arizona airport. The pilot made an emergency landing. (credit: K. Patterson/wildlife.faa.gov)
bird 3
A medical helicopter was hit by a black vulture in November 2009 in North Carolina and had to make an emergency landing in a residential yard. (credit: J. Gusler/wildlife.faa.gov)
bird 4
An MD-90 taking off from an Arizona airport was hit by two western grebes. One bird tore the fuselage activating the depressurization alarm. The airplane landed safely. (credit: L. Duncan/wildlife.faa.gov)
bird 5
A B-727 was hit by several migrating egrets while attempting to land at a southern US airport shattering the pilot’s windshield and getting sucked into two engines. (credit: FedEx/wildlife.faa.gov)