Maybe a collision with light aircraft

Great journalism .. no details at all beyond  .. a pilot who believed he may have struck a drone on approach.
What was it that made the pilot think he hit a drone?

There was a news report on TV last night. I gather that he was on approach at night and has hit a solid object. The good thing is that they are not saying it definitely is a drone but it is probable. A bird strike or bat would have probably left some blood or tissue. They will look on the flight path for any wreckage, but that has to be a long shot.

Cabansail Posted at 2017-7-12 19:56
There was a news report on TV last night. I gather that he was on approach at night and has hit a solid object. The good thing is that they are not saying it definitely is a drone but it is probable. A bird strike or bat would have probably left some blood or tissue. They will look on the flight path for any wreckage, but that has to be a long shot.

Must have used this identification chart.

Cabansail Posted at 2017-7-12 19:56
There was a news report on TV last night. I gather that he was on approach at night and has hit a solid object. The good thing is that they are not saying it definitely is a drone but it is probable. A bird strike or bat would have probably left some blood or tissue. They will look on the flight path for any wreckage, but that has to be a long shot.

If a plane is going fast enough to fly then a bird is a solid object!  I don't think you could tell the difference without seeing it or finding some remnants.

I would have thought that someone flying a drone in an airport approach at night would be extremely unlikely, most people have no reason to fly their drones at night.  Birds don't take into account airport locations and do fly at night.

Prediction:  the investigation will be inconclusive...

A bird will make quite an impact when hit at speed. They also tend to leave some trace of the collision. If the reports are correct then that is not there in this case.

As there was a collision the ATSB is investigating the matter. If it wasn't a bird then they will look at other possibilities. A UAV has to be high on the list. Just because it is illegal to fly in the location of the impact , at that height and at night does not mean it did not happen. We have seen video here of those sort of operations.

I agree that it is unlikely that any evidence will be found and it will be filed as a collision with an unknown object

Cabansail Posted at 2017-7-13 14:52
A bird will make quite an impact when hit at speed. They also tend to leave some trace of the collision. If the reports are correct then that is not there in this case.

As there was a collision the ATSB is investigating the matter. If it wasn't a bird then they will look at other possibilities. A UAV has to be high on the list. Just because it is illegal to fly in the location of the impact , at that height and at night does not mean it did not happen. We have seen video here of those sort of operations.

What annoys me is that there is no detail in that report, and why is the CASA guy allowing himself to be quoted when he has nothing to say. The whole news report is a classic 30 second grab of fluff, no evidence, no detail and no idea, all designed to exploit the public's gowing fear of drones.

It has made the news because there is suspicion of it being an impact with a UAV. All the bird strikes are not generally reported.

Cabansail Posted at 2017-7-13 16:50
It has made the news because there is suspicion of it being an impact with a UAV. All the bird strikes are not generally reported.

Two days later and nothing to report.
The pilot hit something.  There is minor damage to the wing.
The assumption that it may have been a drone was on the basis that there was no blood.
The ATSB said an initial search of the area under the flightpath did not locate the object. The investigation was expected to be completed by November 2017.  (??!!)

If there was any hint of anything to connect the incident with a drone, we'd have heard all about it by now.

The report date is fairly standard.

It will end up being an impact with unknown object.

Did you ever read the CASA Crash Comics?