Photo: Steve Bridge/Twitter
Although it may not seem like it, there are a lot of dangers up there in the sky for flying airplanes. These dangers tend to increase in number and intensity the closer the plane flies to the ground. And one of the biggest dangers at lower altitudes comes in the form of birds.
In fact, birds are the most common collision danger for flying aircraft. According to statistics, between 1988 and 2019 almost 300 people have died after their planes hit birds and crashed, while the number of recorded bird strikes in the U.S. between 1990 and 2019 is, according to the FAA, over 227,000.
Such a strike was recorded this past weekend at the Rhyl Air Show 2022 in North Wales. There, the Royal Air Force (RAF) Red Arrows were performing their usual routine, when one of their planes struck, most likely, a goose.
The Red Arrows fly BAE Systems-made Hawk T1s, single-engine jets that can reach speeds of Mach 1.2 (921 mph/1,482 kph) during dives.
During the latest show, plane number 6 got hit by the bird right in one of its most vulnerable areas, the canopy. As you can see in the photos in the gallery and the tweets attached below, the canopy is now missing a large chunk of it, right where the head of the pilot is.
Somehow, the one doing the flying was not injured and managed to land his plane safely. The team did have to cut its display short, though.
“We had to finish today’s RedArrows display a few minutes early after one of our jets suffered a bird strike, damaging the cockpit canopy. This type of incident is not uncommon in aviation and is extremely well-trained for,” the team said in a statement on August 28.
Weirdly, no one seems to have captured videos of the incident, although it occurred during the Red Arrows display. We’ll update if something does turn up.
Such a strike was recorded this past weekend at the Rhyl Air Show 2022 in North Wales. There, the Royal Air Force (RAF) Red Arrows were performing their usual routine, when one of their planes struck, most likely, a goose.
The Red Arrows fly BAE Systems-made Hawk T1s, single-engine jets that can reach speeds of Mach 1.2 (921 mph/1,482 kph) during dives.
During the latest show, plane number 6 got hit by the bird right in one of its most vulnerable areas, the canopy. As you can see in the photos in the gallery and the tweets attached below, the canopy is now missing a large chunk of it, right where the head of the pilot is.
Somehow, the one doing the flying was not injured and managed to land his plane safely. The team did have to cut its display short, though.
“We had to finish today’s RedArrows display a few minutes early after one of our jets suffered a bird strike, damaging the cockpit canopy. This type of incident is not uncommon in aviation and is extremely well-trained for,” the team said in a statement on August 28.
Weirdly, no one seems to have captured videos of the incident, although it occurred during the Red Arrows display. We’ll update if something does turn up.
Close up of Red 6 immediately after birdstrike at Rhyl today. Hopefully all well. #RedArrows #birdstrike @rafredarrows pic.twitter.com/xY8i4Lsgjl
— Steve Bridge (@stevieb1968) August 28, 2022
When Goose & Hawk collide: Bird-strike on Red 6 yesterday. And only the genius flying skills of its pilot prevented a disaster.. #RedArrows pic.twitter.com/9EhTAOd1js
— Trevor Beattie (@trevorbmbagency) August 29, 2022
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