Plane-Geese Collision Injures Passenger

A B E R D E E N, S.D., Nov. 10, 2000 -- One person was injured when a Mesaba Airlines plane hit a flock of geese.

The Saab 340, carrying 22 passengers and three crew members, was bound for Aberdeen from Minneapolis on Wednesday night, said Tony Molinaro, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration in Chicago.

A large flock of geese collided with the plane’s windshield as it made its final descent, breaking off the wipers, said Mesaba spokeswoman Shirley Doering.

The wipers flew into the propellers, and a piece of debris was thrown with enough force to tear through the fuselage and create a fist-sized hole, Doering said. It lodged in the passenger’s left thigh, said Terry Peterson, a mechanic in Watertown and one of 30 passengers on the flight. Peterson said he was seated across the aisle from the injured man.

The victim, a California man whom the airline did not identify, was treated at an Aberdeen hospital. Doering said she believed he was still in the hospital Thursday afternoon.

“I heard an impact as if the plane had hit something, and I thought that maybe the pilot had put the landing gear down too low,” Peterson said. “Then, all of a sudden, this big fella jumps up sideways in pain.”

A piece of metal was sticking out of his leg about 2 inches, Peterson said.

Doering said she could not confirm reports that a window on the plane was broken.

A doctor onboard was able to remove the metal from the man’s leg, Peterson said.

He said the plane appeared to be only a few hundred feet from the runway when it struck the geese.

“I don’t want to say that it’s a common occurrence, but it’s a hazard of the industry,” Doering said. “Birds fly and airplanes fly.” Such collisions are more likely in spring and fall, when birds are migrating, she said.

Mesaba has sent mechanics to Aberdeen to assess damage to the plane.