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The day a bird strike in Wichita taught me more than 5 years of training
It was a Thursday afternoon, back in 2015, and I was working on a Cessna 172 that had hit a flock of starlings on takeoff. The cowling was dented in three places and there was blood and feathers packed into the alternator cooling fins. Took me four hours to clean it all out and check every line for cracks. What stood out was how the pilot just stood there watching me work, not saying a word for 45 minutes, then he finally asked if I'd ever seen damage like that before. It made me realize how much we take for granted that engines can swallow birds and keep running. Has anyone else here dealt with a bird strike that required more than just a quick clean and inspect?
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noaht1512d ago
Man, that's wild. It's like how nobody thinks about the sewer system until it backs up into their basement. We just flush and forget until something breaks. Same with my clippers at work, they run fine for years until one day they don't and I'm scrambling to find a backup. That pilot probably never gave those engines a second thought before that moment.
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