During the takeoff following a touch-and-go landing at the airport in Apopka, Florida, a flight of birds flew in front of the Cessna 150 and caused a bird strike on the right side of the airplane.
The pilot aborted the takeoff, landed on the runway, and was unable to stop as he reported there was “no runway distance for safe landing.”
The airplane departed the end of the runway, hit terrain, and nosed over.
The airplane sustained minor damage from the bird strike, and substantial damage to the fuselage and to the empennage during the accident.
Probable cause: Following a bird strike during takeoff, the pilot’s decision to land without sufficient runway remaining to safely stop the airplane, which resulted in an over-run, collision with terrain, and nose over.
NTSB Identification: GAA15CA220
This July 2015 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.
If he walked away, he made the right decision IMO.
Well, https://www.ntsb.gov/_layouts/ntsb.aviation/brief.aspx?ev_id=20150810X74120&key=1 says the pilot reported normal flight ops prior to deciding to land on the insufficient runway remaining.
There you go. That’s the Monday morning quarterback story I’m going with.
Revised…no “pre-impact” issues. So back to square one.
This pilot had no way of knowing if he still had a fully functional plane or not so he did the right thing. It’s always simple to quarterback after the fact. Could he have continued with this flight, stayed in the pattern and safely landed? Most likely after the fact, but he had no way of knowing that. I was taught to stick to the ground if you hit a bird on take off if you weren’t already off the end of the runway.
If he had enough control to land he had enough to fly. He was already airborne. Unfortunately he had not obviously prepared for this contingency. I have been in this exact situation in my own Cessna 150.. About 20 feet after takeoff I hit a Red Tailed Hawk (approximately 15 lbs). Immediate controllability check, couldn’t see any damage but I sure as heck felt a good solid impact. Kept the speed at or below the speed during the collision in case of structural damage and continued flight once around the pattern as I did not feel it was safe to try to land on the remaining runway.
Unfortunately most pilots do not think of a situation like this happening… Just like more than would like to admit do not think of what they would do if an engine failed after takeoff, ie which direction they would turn or have attempted to figure out how much altitude is necessary for the impossible turn (which is more of a 270 than the falsely propagated 180).
Experience has taught me to prepare for contingencies before they happen and that was a decade and a half before I became a military aviator. It served me well before, served me in the Military and serves me well now in the Airlines.
That is one big red tailed hawk! Here in West Virginia they only average about 2-2.5 pounds. Maybe you hit a bald eagle – they weigh anywhere from 6 to 14 pounds. Just saying.
I* agree it is better, John, but he was already off of the ground according to the article. They didn’t say what kind of birds. If it was Blackbirds, go around and land. If it was Buzzards or Pelicans, he made the right choice in my opinion.
I’m with my namesake above. “Probable Cause” should have read “Bird Strike on Take-off”. No need to add “…decision to land without sufficient runway…” unless it’s to pat him on back.
Imagine what the “Probable Cause” would have been had the pilot elected to continue, lost control on downwind, and crashed into a seniors’ home…
It’s ALWAYS better to stay on the ground if below flying speed, rather than continue to accellerate and take off if there’s a likely problem with the aircraft that might result in control failures, loss of power, or anything else that would prompt an emergency landing after takeoff.
I agree, he made the correct decision, you can repair or replace the airplane, John Swallow makes the case had it turned out differently.