WT Forums

I got a picture text from a friend of mine on the West Coast A-10 Demo team yesterday. During the airshow in Tri-Cities (Pasco), WA, his jet took a hit in the right verticle stab (tail). He's sending me some better shots when he gets back to Tucson, but they think he hit a pelican or a stork. He spent a few hours cleaning bird guts out of his stab and even found half a fish in there!!

I'll post the pics when he sends them to me, but here is a link to a local news station that has video of the strike.


http://www.kndu.com/Global/story.asp?S=6861880&nav=menu484_2_12

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3 Branches down... 2 to go!
Put on your tinfoil hats, the black choppers are coming, and I'm calling them in.
Former DCC OA-10A T/N 80-278

I hate it when those birds run into the jet, you think by now they would know to move over to the passing lane before over taking an A-10....

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Faugh ah Ballaugh ~ Clear the Way

Such a tuff bird. But, yet again, the A-10 takes a bird strike from behind.

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Slow is Fast, Fast is Slow
Violence may not be the best option, but it IS an option

Horny/desperate little bastard, wasn't it!?

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\"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson

I was last at Volkel Airshow in the Netherlands. And next to me a F-16 get a bird hit after his start from the runway. One big noise, but not so much damage as the Warthog.
The Warthog stops almost every bullit, but a little bird......can make a big hole in it.

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73-1664

I'm pretty sure that a bird like that would have dropped a lawn dart. Just like the 13 pound turkey vulture that hit 166 a few years ago and totally destroyed the left nacelle.

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YGBSM !

Lol Thought Warthogs were vegetarians.

Anyway, good to hear pilot and aircraft returned safely.

doubtful it was a pelican, aren't those ocean birds? Not sure we have storks around here, either. I am sure, however, that we have blue herons. Very large bird with long legs, and an avid fish hunter.

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\"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a GAU-8/A at your side, kid.\"--Hawg Solo

Definately wasn't a Blue Heron. That bird was white. Maybe it was a crane. I thought I saw something about cranes on the news channels website.

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3 Branches down... 2 to go!
Put on your tinfoil hats, the black choppers are coming, and I'm calling them in.
Former DCC OA-10A T/N 80-278

Not sure where you are, but here in Colorado we have fresh water pelicans that are just as big as their salt water cousins.

When I was at DM, we once had a bird strike on the muzzle of the gun. Bird guts got blasted down all 7 barrels and splattered around the gun bay. I don't think there was any body damage to the hawg at all though. One tough gun. Guys in the gun shop had a real mess on their hands though.

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Slow is Fast, Fast is Slow
Violence may not be the best option, but it IS an option

I'm in Wa state, a couple hrs drive from Pasco. I've never seen pelicans around the bigger lakes in that area, though that doesn't mean they aren't there. The herons can have a small amount of white, and the juveniles quite a bit, but who knows? Wasn't there, hard to say...

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\"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a GAU-8/A at your side, kid.\"--Hawg Solo

video anyone?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=H-OtoMVBnoE

Some 100mph tape and it'll be ready to go.

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Pete Nelson
Your Warthog Territory Webmaster

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The only time you have too much fuel is when you're on fire.

Must have been a hungry bird as it bit some piece from that stab.

But like most who encountered the Warthog, it didn't survive.

Interesting that, if you go frame by frame on \"Jason's\" bit, you see 1) Lots of blood n guts, and 2) the Hawg doesn't even wobble, he just pulls up. The bird appeared to have black wingtips, so I'm wondering if it was a good sized gull.

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\"Those who hammer their guns into plows
will plow for those who do not.\"
- Thomas Jefferson

Yes, we do have pelicans in the Tri-Cities. In fact, they fly in pretty large flocks upwards of 20-30 birds, circling and squawking LOUDLY at some pretty high altitudes. You 'd think there were pterodactyls up there. My first thought was a pelican strike, followed by great blue heron and snowy egret. The Columbia River flows right through that area, so lots of salmon and other potential prey animals for the pelicans.

this year at NASB air show the F-15E demo team during their photo pass after pulling off behind the base hit either a seagull or something off the left nose.

They had Ed Shipley in the F-86 circling waiting to do the heritage flight afterwards so he went in to check him out.

http://www.airshowbuzz.com/forums/index ... =1624&st=0

I think you might have to register to see the shots though.



they were able to use their back up for Sat & Sun and the air show boss bought scarecrow dolls for all the pilots for sat AM briefing which the pilots flew with both days. No other bird strikes

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If it Flys, shoot it