LONDON – A single engine Cessna C172RG Cutlass engaged on a training flight in the Czech Republic was forced to make an emergency landing this week, following a bird strike with an eagle.
The incident occurred at Hradec Králové Airport in East Bohemia, Czech Republic. The aircraft collided with an eagle, sustaining significant damage to the propeller and windshield. Two persons were on board the aircraft at the time, a trainee pilot and flight instructor. All
The student pilot suffered slight injuries as a result of the collision and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment.
Photo Credits: Czech Republic Police
Czech Republic Police statement
A statement issued by Iva Kormosová of the Police of the Czech Republic provides the following detail:
Yesterday 8 February shortly after 2:00 p.m., a Cessna aircraft made an emergency landing at the Hradec airport, in which pilot training was taking place and which collided with an eagle at a speed of approximately 200 km/h.
After the collision, the pilot instructor took over from the student and landed safely. As a result of the collision, the front propeller and windshield were damaged.
Photo Credits: Czech Republic Police
The bird of prey split in half and its top half remained on the stick of the plane and the bottom half flew through the back of the plane where it rested on the back seats.
A 23-year-old student was slightly injured in the collision and was taken to hospital for treatment. No one else was injured. Both the pilot and the student were ruled out of alcohol consumption by a breath test. Damage to the Cessna was estimated at 1 million crowns.
Employees of the Institute for Professional Investigation of the Causes of Air Accidents were invited to the site, who will prepare an expert statement.
Bird strikes in the Czech republic
According to the research paper “Bird strike as a threat to aviation safety” (Jaroslav Juračkaa , Jiří Chlebeka all, Viktor Hodaňa), there were reported 92 bird strikes in the Czech Republic in 2013, of which 5 resulted in aircraft damage.
The study notes that air traffic movements in the Czech Republic are growing. The statistics of reported bird strikes in the last ten years are presented in the following graph extracted from the report.
The figures given represent approximately 1% of the total number of reported events in the Czech Republic.
