The flight instructor stated that, while in cruise flight at an altitude of 2,500 feet near Christmas, Florida, he observed two large birds directly ahead of the airplane.
He assumed control of the Cessna 172P from the student pilot and attempted to maneuver around them, but one of the birds hit the left wing, resulting in substantial damage.
After observing no flight control anomalies, the flight instructor elected to continue to the destination airport, where he landed the airplane without incident.
The NTSB determined the probable cause as an inflight collision with a bird during cruise flight.
NTSB Identification: ERA14CA001
This October 2013 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
The Cessna 172 wing tip struck a turkey vulture (Cathartes aura) while the aircraft was in cruise flight. According to http://www.oiseaux-birds.com/card-turkey-vulture.html an adult turkey vulture weighs between 1.9 and 4.4 pounds… that’s about the weight of a commonly used recreational drone.
The aircraft wing sustained substantial damage. An image of the damage posted on the NTSB docket (accident ERA14CA001) shows the wing cap missing, the leading edge crushed, and several wing spars severely distorted and bent.
The Cessna at cruise would be flying at about 120 mph. If gliding one website I found suggested forward airspeed would be about 7 m/sec (15 mph), and if diving about 16 m/sec (36 mph). The estimated airspeeds are well within the capability of drones.
I suggest the potential for damage from a “large bird” like the turkey vulture is a good indication of what I might experience should a drone fly into my flight path.
Anyone (AvWeb editors???) who discounts the potential for harm from an aircraft/drone collision might productively look at the many photos of aircraft/bird collisions before totally discounting the risks of ‘a million drones’ under the Christmas tree in December.
The third paragraph above should read:
The Cessna at cruise would be flying at about 120 mph. If gliding one website I found suggested forward airspeed of the buzzard would be about 7 m/sec (15 mph), and if diving about 16 m/sec (36 mph). The estimated airspeeds for the buzzard are well within the capability of drones, and therefore the energy would likely be similar in a drone/aircraft collision.
I’m with you, John. The USAF uses 4 pound thawed out dead birds to test their very thick military windscreens … so I guess similar to what was involved here. Anyone who thinks a GA airplane won’t be seriously harmed — or worse — by a small drone is deluding themselves.
If a million drones do get sold over Christmas, we have a problem, Houston !!
I once had a bird strike. I remember that most birds dive when threatened so I pulled up hard, instead of the windscreen it hit the bottom of the aircraft with no damage.