A huge bird struck a military plane on takeoff, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing and leaving the pilot injured. The incident occurred on June 14, 2023, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
The plane, a C-37A Gulfstream III, was carrying a crew of four and was preparing to take off for a training mission. As the plane was accelerating down the runway, it struck a large bird, believed to be a goose. The impact caused the plane's engine to lose power and the pilot was forced to abort the takeoff.
The plane landed safely on the runway, but the pilot was taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries. The other three crew members were not injured.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating the incident. Bird strikes are a common occurrence in aviation, and they can cause significant damage to aircraft. In 2022, there were over 13,000 bird strikes reported to the FAA. Of those, over 3,000 resulted in damage to aircraft.