UFO hits plane carrying NBA Team

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DoubleWasp

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Let me first begin by saying that I'm using UFO in its correct technical use: Unidentified Flying Object https://www.indiatimes.com/sports/plane-...ago-332611.html So, Delta says it was a bird. Allegedly, this happened at cruising altitude. A bird? At that height? In the middle of the night? Really? No, I'm not saying it was space aliens, but that doesn't look like damage from a bird to me. That nose is caved in, in a major way.
 
So Steven Adams' tweet says they were flying at 30,000 feet...but you'd have to ask the flight crew at what altitude the strike occurred. A large bird CAN do that amount of damage.
 
Headline and Delta say, "Hit while landing". NBA player/passenger tweets, "hit at 30,000'" Given how much NBA players know about flying, and the instrumentation available to them in the back, I'm going with Delta's explanation of events. And yes, birds can do that much damage. KE=1/2mv2. And v2 is pretty large at 250KIAS...
 
They were landing and people there suspect that it was an owl. Owl's frequent the area and the damage is consistent with a strike. No mystery here, just one dead bird.
 
Originally Posted By: Astro14
Headline and Delta say, "Hit while landing". NBA player/passenger tweets, "hit at 30,000'" Given how much NBA players know about flying, and the instrumentation available to them in the back, I'm going with Delta's explanation of events. And yes, birds can do that much damage. KE=1/2mv2. And v2 is pretty large at 250KIAS...
There are also a fair amount of NBA players that subscribe to the "flat Earth" ideology.
 
Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Originally Posted By: Astro14
Headline and Delta say, "Hit while landing". NBA player/passenger tweets, "hit at 30,000'" Given how much NBA players know about flying, and the instrumentation available to them in the back, I'm going with Delta's explanation of events. And yes, birds can do that much damage. KE=1/2mv2. And v2 is pretty large at 250KIAS...
There are also a fair amount of NBA players that subscribe to the "flat Earth" ideology.
They probably think they struck the Antarctic ice ring when the pilot tried to fly over it to see what's on the bottom of the flat earth!!
 
I was waiting for my flight to Denver at Philadelphia International in 1995 after a week at EPRI and the plane arrived with the radar dome shattered by a seagull on approach. Really destroyed the dome and radar dish. Have to give United credit for finding passengers alternate flights to Denver. Missed connection to Yampa Valley Regional and got the last seat on the last flight out to the STOL airport at Steamboat Springs. Glad to be back home in the hinterland after a week in Philly. Actually it was Eddystone,PA. Don't think I would like living in that area.
 
I saw a statement from a retired NTSB aircraft crash investigator who stated this was not a bird strike, it was the collapse of the radar dome. He said it is not that uncommon, and is usually a result of poor repair practices, or manufacturing defects. The FAA has a preliminary investigation opened on this, and is looking at the repair history of this plane.
 
Am I the only one who noticed that it was in the Times of India? Sounds like a pretty eclectic news feed... Major sports teams, like these guys, are so important that they never fly at anything less than 30,000 feet, ever. When it's time to land or take off, they call the airport and the runway raises up to them like an elevator. Saves a ton of time.
 
The NTSB guy also said Delta let the "bird strike" theory run wild, just in case it a problem with their plane or their repairs.
 
Originally Posted By: Schmoe
Aren't those front domes made of fiberglass or plastic?
Yep, a selected fiberglass with a specific dielectric constant or the radar wouldn't be able to see through it.
 
I have worked in aviation in the past and I have seen bird-strikes on several aircraft over those years. I've never seen one that didn't leave behind ample evidence of the bird such as feathers, blood, guts, fat, etc. Fat specifically seemed to stay on there and get into the rivets, seams, etc; even through precipitation on decent. Typically avionics/radar is behind the nose and the nose is made of a covered honeycombed carbon fiber housing in order for it to work properly.
 
Originally Posted By: Spartanfool
I saw a statement from a retired NTSB aircraft crash investigator who stated this was not a bird strike, it was the collapse of the radar dome. He said it is not that uncommon, and is usually a result of poor repair practices, or manufacturing defects. The FAA has a preliminary investigation opened on this, and is looking at the repair history of this plane.
That certainly makes a whole heck of a lot more sense than a bird strike. I was not aware that fiberglass or any of its fibrous relatives could cave like that. My experience with fiberglass has been that when it's hit like that, it shreds or explodes. Learn something new everyday. The cleanliness of the hit didn't really give with me either. I mean, a 757 that's still in the air has to be doing at least 200+. That bird would burst like a water balloon and probably leave a nasty mess. I did of course leave room for the possibility of rain, which would basically give the nose a pressure washing on the way down. I'm assuming the FAA will get to the bottom of it.
 
Originally Posted By: ejes
...Typically avionics/radar is behind the nose and the nose is made of a covered honeycombed carbon fiber housing in order for it to work properly.
Are you sure the carbon fiber was in front of the radar and not aft?
 
Originally Posted By: DoubleWasp
.... So, Delta says it was a bird. Allegedly, this happened at cruising altitude. A bird? At that height? In the middle of the night? Really?
Ducks and geese can fly a lot higher than you would think. Hitting one would be about like hitting a bowling ball at a couple of hundred knots or more. Not good ... I seem to recall some pictures of a light twin, an Aerostar, maybe, that had hit a largeish bird at altitude, a duck or goose, if I recall, and the damage was pretty horrific - went right through the windscreen, killed one of the cockpit occupants, and the other was pretty badly injured, but it didn't bring the plane down.
 
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