Lear hits elk at AST

[C172Heavy]

Just heard on the news this morning that a lear on takeoff tagged a elk on the left wing and caught on fire in Astoria, OR. Everyone made it out OK, no word on the elk.

There is a herd of elk that frequent the airport. Anyone else have any interesting animal avoidance stories?

Fly safe

 

[flyby]

Deer

Just last week right before I rotated (in a baron) I noticed 2 deer crossing the runway about 1000 feet down the runway.

Don't they fence most ga airports now? I guess deer can jump fairly high.

I am going to bet the elk is in elk Heaven.

 

[PA-44Typed]

Astoria, OR

Astoria, OR:
isn’t that where the Goonies are from?

 

[Jump Pilot]

The Lear belonging to the Dallas Cowboys and Jerry Jones hit two deer while landing at an airport in Alabama last year. Tore things up pretty good.

Here is a link.

http://www.troymessenger.com/news/0101/01-16_jet_crash.html

 

[Buschpilot]

I once had to go around due to a dog sled team crossing the runway in Stebbins, Alaska.

That's when I knew I'd seen it all

B

 

[Sppedmode]

Everyone is OK

My friend from Phoenix Air called to tell me that everyone is OK. They had just dropped off that Lear yesterday and were swapping to bring another down to CA this morning.
Apparently, the other crew hit an elk on take-off, kept the centerline all the way down and off the end of the runway. Pulled all the fire bottles and got out, however, the aircraft still burned up. But everyone is Ok, which is great news.

 

[typhoonpilot]

Glad to hear that everybody is okay.

In October of 1994 I flew into Astoria in a DC-9. It was right at minimums in fog and just after sunset. I was the PF, shortly after seeing the runway and not more than 100 feet AGL I saw a string of Deer walking across the numbers from right to left. We probably would have missed them anyway, but I did a little balloon manuever to be sure. Still, it got the heart pumping rather quickly.

A go-around would probably have been more prudent, but that was the my reaction at the time.

Typhoonpilot

 

[AK737FO]

Elk FOD

The AST airport (run by the port of AST) got some federal money last year for an elk fence. They put up a 18 foot high fence, complete with cattle guards on the roads. The elk heard has always been around the airport from time to time and when the whole heard is together it can easily reach 60 animals.

This makes me wonder... was this an elk that has been inside the fence since last summer (when the fence was completed), or did a couple of elk get smart and realize that they could simply swim around the end of the fence at high tide - since about 1/3 of the airport boundary and two ends of the fence are on the Columbia river.

Time to build a better mouse (elk) trap. Maybe a couple more hundred thousand will fix it... Glad no-one was hurt.

 

[HAZ-MAT]

I had to go around at PGD (FL) because there was cows on the runway... then a guy gets on CTAF with at thick southern accent and says not to land yet, he's gonna chase the cows away... then i see a pick-up truck with one guy driving while the passenger is sitting out of the window with a gun...

 

[falcondriver]

I just watched the local news video at
www.katu.com
The guys did a great job at keeping the plane on the runway during the accident.
FD

 

[bigD]

I've taken the Duchess around because of a giraffe on the runway!

Okay, so it was a large plush one that was dropped from the plane departing in front of me (apparently a door accidentally popped open). I couldn't tell it was a giraffe at the time - I just saw an object drop onto the runway and took it around. But otherwise I just say I had to go around because of a giraffe.

 

[Sonic Cruzer]

Re: Astoria, OR

Astoria, OR:
isn’t that where the Goonies are from?

Why yes!

http://www.geekamerica.com/articles/astoria.html

Kindergarten Cop was also shot there.


I believe a deer took out a CommutAir 1900D at KSLK a few years back.

Feral pigs are a problem in FL too. They seem to be attracted at night to runways like moths to lightbulb.

Speedmode, nice to hear your friends are OK, but more importantly, Who got the Elk meat?

 

[TDTURBO]

I suspect a service gate was left open, as was the case a few weeks ago when I was at John Tune airport in TN.

A Lear slammed into a Coyote on take off just before I arrived leaving the carcass in the middle of the runway.

The Lear pilots weren't even aware they hit it until we called them on the radio. I found out the next day it had to have the left main gear replaced.

I bet that was cheap!