Dash 8 hits Aardvark

[Erlanger]

I think this is news worthy cause how often do you hear of an Aardvark strike?

A South African Express Airways de Havilland Dash 8-300, registration ZS-NLY performing flight XZ-1107/SA-1107 from Johannesburg to Kimberly (South Africa), had just touched down with its main gear on Kimberly's runway 20, the nose gear about to touch down, when the nose gear struck an aardvark on the runway and bent backwards. The crew managed to stop the aircraft on the runway centerline, no injuries occured.

The runway had to be closed until the aircraft could be moved off the runway.

An aardvark ("earth pig") is not related to pigs but is a nocturnal mammal native in Africa, the closest relatives of which are elephant shrews, tenrecs, hyraxes, and elephants. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Aardvarks.jpg

 

[Oakum_Boy]

Poor Aardvark!

 

[Raoul Duke]

ALPA should put out a safety bulletin to alert pilots to the significant risks posed by Aardvarks - the FAA and TSA should ban their import into the US.

 

[Erlanger]

And if aardvarks aren't getting run over than it's people. How does this guy get himself under the nosewheel on pushback?

An Air India Airbus A321-200, flight IC-602 from Mumbai to New Delhi (India) with 53 passengers, was being pushed back, when the nose gear ran over the legs of a ground worker causing fractures and serious injuries to the man's legs. The airplane was stopped, the worker taken to a local hospital. A replacement aircraft departed to New Delhi about one hour later.

 

[Salukipilot4590]

And if aardvarks aren't getting run over than it's people. How does this guy get himself under the nosewheel on pushback?

An Air India Airbus A321-200, flight IC-602 from Mumbai to New Delhi (India) with 53 passengers, was being pushed back, when the nose gear ran over the legs of a ground worker causing fractures and serious injuries to the man's legs. The airplane was stopped, the worker taken to a local hospital. A replacement aircraft departed to New Delhi about one hour later.

More importantly....how did that break the airplane?!

 

[Raoul Duke]

exactly, get a hose, spray off the nose gear and leave.

 

[CX880]

did the aardvark survive?

 

[Erlanger]

did the aardvark survive?

The news clip only mentions that;

The runway had to be closed until the aircraft could be moved off the runway.

Nothing about the aardvark having to be removed or any cleanup. LOL!

 

[tomgoodman]

They're really fast

Hitting an Aardvark is hard to do. :smash:
http://www.globalaircraft.org/planes/f-111_aardvark.pl#photos

 

[chqflyer]

Eeeeeew. I googled aardvark to see what the thing looks like. It's like some mutant pig, jack rabbit, armadillo hybrid. I can see how it would dent up an airplane with it's looks alone!