I don’t know how these pictures got out, but they’re a terrific demonstration of what a bird strike can do to an aircraft. They’re from NAS Kingsville, where young Naval Aviators learn to fly props and rotors. The aircraft struck is a T-44A, know to the rest of the world as a King Air, a nice big twin turboprop. I do not know the bird type. Most folks cannot believe birds can do a lot of damage to aircraft, but these pictures tell a different tale. In fact, a B1 ‘Lancer’ bomber was brought down by striking a large bird going very fast; the bird went into the wing, ruptured a fuel line, and the plane went down.
There are 5 pictures, one demonstrating the type of aircraft, and four showing the results of the strike:
