First Impact: Piper Twin vs. ???
- Thread starter ianwood
- Start date
And you would be wise. I think the ones with deicing boots MUST have had engine upgrades
This wouldn't be the first. In April a Cessna pilot suspected that he hit a drone (but did not actually see the drone) at 4800' IVO Livermore, CA. (Note: Livermore is at 400MSL, so the collision was at ~4400AGL) He hit the object in the prop/cowl area and landed. Subsequent inspection revealed that he had hit something due to marks on the cowl and two of the prop blades but the aircraft was deemed airworthy. ASRS report below. It is just suspected but I'd be interested to see the actual report for this new one since most of the drone reports in FAA and ASRS have issues. For this new one, the FAA AIN description just says "AIRCRAFT STRUCK AN UNKNOWN OBJECT WHILE IN FLIGHT, ROMEOVILLE, IL."
ACN: 1258130
Time / Day
Date : 201504
Local Time Of Day : 0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference.Airport : LVK.Airport
State Reference : CA
Relative Position.Distance.Nautical Miles : 8
Altitude.MSL.Single Value : 4500
Environment
Flight Conditions : VMC
Weather Elements / Visibility.Visibility : 50
Light : Daylight
Aircraft
Reference : X
ATC / Advisory.TRACON : NCT
Aircraft Operator : Personal
Make Model Name : Cessna Single Piston Undifferentiated or Other Model
Crew Size.Number Of Crew : 1
Operating Under FAR Part : Part 91
Flight Plan : None
Mission : Ferry
Nav In Use : GPS
Flight Phase : Climb
Route In Use : Direct
Airspace.Class E : NCT
Person
Reference : 1
Location Of Person.Aircraft : X
Location In Aircraft : Flight Deck
Reporter Organization : Personal
Function.Flight Crew : Pilot Flying
Qualification.Flight Crew : Commercial
Qualification.Flight Crew : Instrument
Experience.Flight Crew.Total : 6390
Experience.Flight Crew.Last 90 Days : 107
Experience.Flight Crew.Type : 2170
ASRS Report Number.Accession Number : 1258130
Events
Anomaly.Ground Event / Encounter : Object
Anomaly.Inflight Event / Encounter : Object
Detector.Person : Flight Crew
Miss Distance.Horizontal : 0
Miss Distance.Vertical : 0
When Detected : In-flight
Result.General : Maintenance Action
Result.Aircraft : Aircraft Damaged
Assessments
Contributing Factors / Situations : Human Factors
Contributing Factors / Situations : Environment - Non Weather Related
Primary Problem : Environment - Non Weather Related
Narrative: 1
Departing LVK during climbout at approx 4800 feet we felt a bump in the airframe, and heard a thud. No other anomalies were noted, and after discussion and evaluation of the aircraft instruments and visual areas of the airframe, we continued on to destination. After landing I examined the aircraft and found a 3 inch long damaged area on the lower nose cowl, and scratch marks on the back of 2 of the 3 propeller blades near the propeller root and at a position consistent with the nose damage. No other damage was noted. The aircraft was subsequently inspected by an Inspection Authority (IA) [mechanic] and confirmed to be airworthy.
I believe we struck a small UAV being operated in the vicinity of the Del Valle reservoir, in violation of the applicable FARs. If the device had been 1 foot higher, it likely would have impacted the windshield with devastating results.
Synopsis
Single engine Cessna pilot reports a collision with an object, possibly a small UAV, at 4,800 feet over the Del Valle reservoir after departing LVK. Scratches on the cowling and two of the three propeller blades were noted on post flight.
ACN: 1258130
Time / Day
Date : 201504
Local Time Of Day : 0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference.Airport : LVK.Airport
State Reference : CA
Relative Position.Distance.Nautical Miles : 8
Altitude.MSL.Single Value : 4500
Environment
Flight Conditions : VMC
Weather Elements / Visibility.Visibility : 50
Light : Daylight
Aircraft
Reference : X
ATC / Advisory.TRACON : NCT
Aircraft Operator : Personal
Make Model Name : Cessna Single Piston Undifferentiated or Other Model
Crew Size.Number Of Crew : 1
Operating Under FAR Part : Part 91
Flight Plan : None
Mission : Ferry
Nav In Use : GPS
Flight Phase : Climb
Route In Use : Direct
Airspace.Class E : NCT
Person
Reference : 1
Location Of Person.Aircraft : X
Location In Aircraft : Flight Deck
Reporter Organization : Personal
Function.Flight Crew : Pilot Flying
Qualification.Flight Crew : Commercial
Qualification.Flight Crew : Instrument
Experience.Flight Crew.Total : 6390
Experience.Flight Crew.Last 90 Days : 107
Experience.Flight Crew.Type : 2170
ASRS Report Number.Accession Number : 1258130
Events
Anomaly.Ground Event / Encounter : Object
Anomaly.Inflight Event / Encounter : Object
Detector.Person : Flight Crew
Miss Distance.Horizontal : 0
Miss Distance.Vertical : 0
When Detected : In-flight
Result.General : Maintenance Action
Result.Aircraft : Aircraft Damaged
Assessments
Contributing Factors / Situations : Human Factors
Contributing Factors / Situations : Environment - Non Weather Related
Primary Problem : Environment - Non Weather Related
Narrative: 1
Departing LVK during climbout at approx 4800 feet we felt a bump in the airframe, and heard a thud. No other anomalies were noted, and after discussion and evaluation of the aircraft instruments and visual areas of the airframe, we continued on to destination. After landing I examined the aircraft and found a 3 inch long damaged area on the lower nose cowl, and scratch marks on the back of 2 of the 3 propeller blades near the propeller root and at a position consistent with the nose damage. No other damage was noted. The aircraft was subsequently inspected by an Inspection Authority (IA) [mechanic] and confirmed to be airworthy.
I believe we struck a small UAV being operated in the vicinity of the Del Valle reservoir, in violation of the applicable FARs. If the device had been 1 foot higher, it likely would have impacted the windshield with devastating results.
Synopsis
Single engine Cessna pilot reports a collision with an object, possibly a small UAV, at 4,800 feet over the Del Valle reservoir after departing LVK. Scratches on the cowling and two of the three propeller blades were noted on post flight.
