Bugs and Birds

And then there are the bugs that grow in jet fuel.  Seriously, there is an organism that can live in jet fuel and kerosene, and will end up clogging fuel filters!

That is an algae that grows in the horizon between water and jet fuel, Don.  I once had to reject a takeoff in a Citation just coming out of maintenance because Leaf Rollers had managed to plug up both pitot systems.  I had no airspeed at 50 knots or so, asked the co-pilot, and he had none either.  Back to the shop!

Last week leaving SFO.

It was a seagull...

Bet he doesn't have the guts to try that again. Crappy view for the FO. Thank goodness for good old NESA glass.

Patrick

My worst encounter with birds was one overcast night in a King Air C90.  I was descending out of 10,000 and took out 2 or 3 ducks with the right wing outboard of the engines.  Beak parts were stuck in the deicing boot and the leading edge had to be replaced in that section.  What ducks were doing that high is beyond me.

Seagulls and SFO, bad combination.  As it so happens, I was landing at SFO in 1989, in another King Air, this time an F-90.  I had landed long on 28L as I always did to go to Butler and some seagulls were on the runway ahead of me.  I wasn't concerned as they always just scattered out of the way and I was just rolling out anyway.  This time they just flew straight up in the air and fluttered around, at least one came straight at me and smacked the right windscreen, and at least one other went through the right prop and scattered blood and feathers everywhere.  I rolled to a stop and when I attempted to turn left the airplane didn't seem to respond normally.  Had an engine injested one of the birds?  I called ground and told them I needed a short delay. The response was "We don't care what you do, we're getting out of here.  At that point I realized that an earthquake was in progress.  I had landed just at the at the start of the Loma Prieta earthquake, and was the last one to land.   I learned a little later after taxiing on to Butler that much of the glass in the tower had broken.  Apparently the reason the airplane didn't seem to being responding right was that I was sitting on the quivering mudflat covered by the runway.

That was a day. I was working at the downtown HQ of the GC that I worked for at the time. Since I was an estimator/ manager I worked 8-5 then rather than 6.30 - 3.30.

First thing all the drawers in my filing cabinets in my office open. then the ceiling started unjulating. I was on the 11th floor of a 30 floor highrise. All the windows in the B of A tower across the way were distorting like crazy, but none came out.

There was a story the other day where someone saw a mouse on an A380 and the aircraft was out of service for the day while it was fumigated.

jeaton01

My worst encounter with birds was one overcast night in a King Air C90.  I was descending out of 10,000 and took out 2 or 3 ducks with the right wing outboard of the engines.  Beak parts were stuck in the deicing boot and the leading edge had to be replaced in that section.  What ducks were doing that high is beyond me.

 

I experienced a bird strike at 22oh, crossing the Rockies on second stage climb, no damage, outboard of right engines. Bird remains, (just  stains and a faint bit of skin smear,) were examined and thought to be Canada geese.

I have read that some birds are known to cross the Himalayas way into the high 20's, maybe swans or such, can't recall for certain. Nature has some real oddities.

Patrick

I remember reading about an ROV sub that saw a seal at 1000m depth.

I've heard that NASA air sampling flights have found single cell organisms way up in the stratosphere, 30K feet plus!

I wasn't involved, but my company had a fish strike a while back departing Juneau Alaska. It was around 500-1000ft.

 Sounds like there needs to be a photoeched smashed bird set. And bugs to put behind the CP for added realism 

mach71

I wasn't involved, but my company had a fish strike a while back departing Juneau Alaska. It was around 500-1000ft.

 

 

M .71 - Did an eagle drop the fish?????? I won't sleep until I know.

Patrick

Thats the theory. Otherwise how would a salmon get that high?

They can jump, but not that well! :-)

mach71

Thats the theory. Otherwise how would a salmon get that high?

They can jump, but not that well! :-)

 

Hi, M.71 - I'm generally aware of jumping fish altitude restrictions, but I was hoping there would be a reason for the fish being there. Like maybe a Beaver or 185 floatplane, having a cooler filled with fish fall out in flight. Or a UFO dropping an Earthly specimen just collected?????

I would NOT have wanted to report a 500 foot fish strike to my last CP or VP/Dir. Flt. Ops. and no facts to go with it, other than "I don't know, it was just there." 

Patrick 

Yup, I was just trying to be funny. 

I suppose a brown bear could have thrown it....

It was a salmon, they found the scales and flesh on the leading edge of the wing.

And be careful, being "generally aware" got Tom Brady suspended for 4 games!