Atsb transport Safety Report
Aircraft damage from animal strikes
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- Serious aircraft damage and injury
- 8.2.2 Damage by aircraft component damaged
8.2 Aircraft damage from animal strikes8.2.1 Damage by animal type Animal strikes can cause a relatively large amount of damage compared with birdstrikes. This is due to the larger size and mass of many of the animals involved. The majority of animal strikes where damage was reported involved kangaroos, with 39 out of 61 strikes resulting in either serious or minor damage. All of the eight livestock strikes since 2004 have resulted in aircraft damage, often of a serious nature (Table , below), one of which resulted in an aircraft being destroyed. Livestock strikes that occur away from licensed aerodromes and involve general aviation aircraft are currently only reportable to the ATSB under the Transport Safety Investigation Regulations when they result in aircraft damage or injury, so it is probable that the actual number of animal strikes involving livestock is higher than the reported figure. Table : Aircraft damage from animal strikes (where damage is known) by animal type, 2004 - 2013
Serious aircraft damage and injurySince 2004, there have been 15 animal strikes that caused serious damage to aircraft. Four of these occurred during 2012 – 2013. One of these four also resulted in injuries to a passenger. These are described below. Magni Gryo M22 Voyager animal strike and collision on ground During the rotation on take-off from Montpellier Airfield near Townsville, Qld, a wallaby was observed to the left of the aircraft. The wallaby just missed the left side wheel but collided with the propeller. Braking was attempted but the M-22 Voyager gyrocopter collided with a fence resulting in substantial damage (22 September 2013). 
The Magni Gyro M22 Voyager, showing damage to the propeller caused by the wallaby strike. Source: ATSB Piper PA-22 animal strike and ground strike During the landing roll at Bairnsdale Aerodrome, Vic., the Piper PA-22 struck a fox with the left wheel. The aircraft lifted slightly and began to fishtailing and ground looped with the right wing striking the ground. The aircraft sustained substantial damage (8 January 2013). Cessna 210 animal strike, go around and landing gear failure During the landing flare at Thylungra, Qld, the Cessna 210 struck a kangaroo and the pilot conducted a go-around. During the subsequent landing, the nose landing gear collapsed. The aircraft was substantially damaged (16 October 2012). Mooney M20J Birdstrike on approach followed by animal strike The pilot commenced the landing flare at about 10 feet above the runway at Hedlow airfield, Qld, during which time a brush turkey struck the left wing. The aircraft yawed slightly left and the left wing dropped; the pilot applied opposite aileron to maintain wings level. The aircraft then drifted to the right of the runway into an adjacent paddock and the left wing struck a bull. The aircraft landed in the paddock. The aircraft sustained substantial damage from the bull strike and one passenger received minor injuries. The bull was put down as a result of the injuries sustained from the strike (24 March 2013). 
Damage to the Mooney M20J caused by striking a bull. Source: ATSB All five of the livestock strikes where serious or destructive aircraft damage resulted occurred in general aviation and all occurred at remote landing sites (two aeroplane landing areas11 and three private airfields) which may not have been distinctly separated from the surrounding environment. This might include landing in a paddock, or at landing areas adjacent to grazing paddocks where fences did not exist or were inadequate to separate livestock from aircraft operations. Figure shows animal-related aircraft damage mainly involved general aviation aircraft, and some low capacity air transport aircraft. There was only one high capacity air transport aircraft damaged in an animal strike, where a Boeing 717 ran over an Echidna on landing and punctured a tyre. The low number of damaging animal strikes in high capacity air transport may be due to the generally more secure airports that these aircraft fly into. Kangaroos and wallabies make up the majority of damaging animal strikes in low capacity air transport and general aviation operations. Figure : Aircraft damage by animal type and operation type for the 2004-2013 period 
8.2.2 Damage by aircraft component damagedA review of the aircraft components damaged in animal strikes shows that the lower areas of an aircraft are more susceptible to damage in a strike due to their proximity to the ground. The landing gear, propeller, tail, and engine of low capacity air transport aircraft are recorded as sustaining damage in animal strikes since 2004, as shown in Table below. Aircraft conducting general aviation operations were also likely to show a similar damage pattern, but there were also a number of wing damage and rotor strikes as well as fuselage and nose damage reported to the ATSB. Table : Number of animal strikes by part damaged (where known) and operation type for the 2004-2013 period
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