Agreed. I was also pretty lucky that all my bird strikes only caused superficial damage, although I did see a couple of our planes that weren’t so lucky. And there are definitely some pretty crazy pictures out there on the webs. Either way it’s not pleasant to clean up. The smell alone…
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What gets me is seeing bird strikes on helicopters. Usually not going that fast, but I suppose when you throw 9-10lbs into a windshield at 75kts, it’ll do some damage.
I hit a pigeon on my motorbike straight on the helmet visor doing around 90mph…
I felt like a sledgehammer had hit me! My neck hurt for days.
A guy in world superbike racing hit one at a tremendous speed and killed it with a damn headbutt!
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I’m more impressed by those reflexes!
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I went to watch the gp at silverstone once and hurt my neck WATCHING those maniacs… Let alone nutting a seagull at race pace lol
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Ever heard about the PSA crash over North Park, a bit further south from Carlsbad?
I was a paperboy for the Philadelphia Inquirer when that happened. That photo was on the front page. I sat down and read the article before I delivered the papers that morning…the only time I ever did that.
A few decades later…when I was stationed in SD I visited the neighborhood where the 727 crashed. Even all the years later it was eerie. I also met a guy who was a fireman that had responded to the crash. As he talked about it, it was obvious that he had been very shaken by it.
A good account of the crash can be found in Air Disaster Volume 2 by Macarthur Job.
Yes, that accident had an impact on me…don’t know why, it just did…I can still remember that morning, seeing that photo in the newspaper, like it was yesterday. Strange how things are sometimes like that.
If you’ve ever been to the San Diego Air and Space Museum, there’s a pretty big memorial/ exhibit dedicated to that crash- it’s one of those things that I think has worked itself indelibly into the history of the city. My ex’s parents, who were both natives, very clearly remembered where they were when the crash happened, and I imagine it’s the same way for everybody who was there- much like the Hornet crash just short of Miramar about 10 years ago that killed an entire family.
It still blows my mind that KSAN is still open as the main airport for the city, given its location and the fact that’s only a single runway. Living in Little Italy, there were times when the 737’s coming in sounded like they were about to drag a wingtip through the building next to us.
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I did know about that accident. Very sad for all involved. One of the reasons I am very glad we have TCAS these days. I have had 3 or 4 TCAS Resolution Advisories (RA’s) flying into Carlsbad. All of them were with light GA traffic that wasn’t talking to SOCAL Approach (as was their right, but in an area with that much traffic, maybe not the most sensible thing to do).
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While I lived there I watched a broadcast SD city council meeting on the subject. What they want is MCRD San Diego…the Marines say no.
If they had MCRD, they could add a runway and move the main terminal onto the space left over. The major point about a second runway is that the current RWY 27–which is by far the active, given the usual winds off the ocean–cannot support an ILS approach, only a LOC. It has to do with that mountain that is a few miles from KSAN, practically lined up with RWY 27. Something about not having enough clearance over the mountain (or the antennas on top of it)…real pilots, jump in here…
There is something about Brown field (KSDM) being too close to the border…or MMTJ…and would be too far for cargo ops (evidently San Diego has the latest “last pick up time” for next day delivery for FEDEX, UPS etc. because KSAN is so close to the business district.)
KMYF is too small. (Were you there when that morning radio show put out the space shuttle was going to divert to Montgomery because of high winds at Edwards? People actually went out to see it come in. Despite the fact that it was 1 April…)
I think the city would gladly take MCAS Miramar or NASNI…but unlikely that will happen for a while.
Oh dear…
All it takes to shut down a busy international airport is a phone call saying that you ‘think’ you saw a drone in the vicinity. This is getting stupid. This is more about CYA than anything else.
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It seems to be really easy to sell this 5 million £ drone-prevention equipment to airports. One quick cold call is all it needs.
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I’ve got a registered drone with the FAA and while it was fun at first, Texas has some of the most draconian drone laws in the United States that have completely sucked the joy out of flying them.
The problem started when the bunny-huggers were using drones to take footage of confined animal feeding operations (CAFO) over private property. This would be things like poultry and dairy operations, mostly. They were trying to highlight the practices of agricultural producers and the producers, rightly asserting their private property rights, pretty much claimed the airspace over their farms. The state Legislature agreed and passed sweeping laws that punish drone users for the smallest of infractions in the name of privacy that doesn’t even exist.
It grew from there. Unless you’re a real estate agent or a sheriff’s deputy, your rights and privileges in operating a drone are severely limited in the state. An FAA ticket and notifying the nearest ATC tower of your flight will do you absolutely no good here, law enforcement officials will still confiscate your drone and hit you with fines that run into the tens of thousands of dollars. I’ve got a Phantom 4 that rarely leaves its storage box. It’s been one of the silliest purchases I’ve ever made and I regret the day I ever bought it. It’s like I bought a boat.
I hear you. I have a Phantom 3 that I now only fly over my own property. There is just too much at risk if I take it out and about . Seeing as my livelihood is tied to my FAA ATP certificate, it becomes just not worth it, and not enjoyable. It’s a shame, because drones are so darned cool and no threat whatsoever when used with a little common sense and consideration for others.
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