F-111 Fighters And Pelicans Don’t Mix
By Andrew Liszewski
Ever wonder what would happen if a pelican hit an F-111 that was flying at just over 340mph? Well these two photos should give you a pretty good idea. The incident happened in Australia at Evans Head in the northern part of New South Wales about a week ago. The plane was flying at around 3,000 feet during a test bombing raid when a pelican collided with the fiberglass nosecone and was then sucked into one of the engines.
As you can see, the nosecone itself was nearly destroyed and other damage included a hole in the wing as well as an engine failure. However, the two RAAF pilots were still able to safely land the heavily damaged plane, and are being hailed as heroes. I’m actually pretty shocked at just how much damage the pelican caused, particularly how shredded the fiberglass material looks. I assume they now use materials like carbon-fiber instead of fiberglass when it comes to building high-performance fighter/bombers, but then again what do I know since I’ve never actually gotten around to building my own. It’s too bad too because that kit sitting in the garage cost me $35 million.
For more pics check out the NEWS.com.au gallery.
[ F-111 almost downed - by a pelican ] VIA [ FAZED ]
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