Pilot inspects aircraft after receiving 8 stitches in the head!!! Note the blood splatter inside the aircraft - after the Beech 99 hit the bird at 11000 feet.
SHOW LOW, Ariz. - An amazing story from the White Mountains area. Imagine you’re flying two miles above the Earth when you smash into a bird that shatters your plane’s windshield and leaves you bloodied.
The impact of the crash was a mess, but the pilot managed to land the plane safely after the bird strike.
The flight was carrying cargo - small packages from Phoenix to Show Low on Wednesday. As the plane began its decent into Show Low, it struck the large bird at about 11,000 feet.
The pilot suffered some minor lacerations on his face and a bruised shoudler. He received eight stitches and was released from a hospital in Show Low.
FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said the pilot, The Roger Wutke, was the only person onboard the Ameriflight Beechcraft C99. The impact was so violent it knocked the glasses and headset off Wutke.
The cost to repair the plane’s windshield will be in the thousands. There’s a minor dent on the frame where the bird’s head hit as well.
Wednesday’s incident marks the second plane hit by birds. On Monday, a Delta Air Lines passenger jet on a flight to Salt Lake City was forced to return to Phoenix after it struck a flock of birds.
who is hedwig? so i guess to answer yoru question, i would say no, unless my parole officer’s screen name is hedwig, then yes i see him once a week.
im suprised a bird was 11000 feet in the air in the first place, birds rarely go above 1000 feet agl in the first place. but since i live in arizona, and showlow is in the white mountains, maybe the bird was only 3 or 4 thousand feet agl which is still very rare, its reasonable.
i used to go sking near show low for the 7 days every christmas, the indians run the lodge there so bad and they mess up reservations every time, they still operate by the yellow post it note system. so if you get there early and say you had a reservation, they will bump someone else no problem. thats bad cause they are unreliable, but its good cause their incompetance keeps the prices down low. you can get a room for 2 nights and 2 lift tickets for adults and 2 free child lift tickets for 240 a day but if you just rent a room its about 220 a day, they are giving you 4 lift tickets for 20 extra bucks. its comical, and if you make a reservation before and after a holiday, you dont get charged the holiday rate for any of the nights.
oh and you can sell the the child lift tickets for 30 bucks each for 2 days thats another 120 you save. i did a search for Hedwig and i dont even see that screen name on this forum. maybe you speled it wrong.