Moment huge bird smashes through plane’s windscreen - but pilot keeps calm and carries on
15 June 2023, 10:17 | Updated: 15 June 2023, 13:34
This is the moment an enormous bird smashes through the windscreen of a pilot’s cockpit leaving him covered in blood.
Squadron leader Ariel Valiente managed to keep cool after the smash in Vinces, Los Rios Province, Ecuador.
The badly wounded bird can be seen dangling into the cockpit, with blood and debris scattered around. The pilot has blood on his face and uniform as he wrestles with the aircraft’s controls.
The bird died not long after the impact.
A flight instructor posted online in response to the video: “ When in a stressful situation, pilots will revert to the first thing they learned. That's why initial training is so important.”
Warning: Distressing footage
In Vinces, Los Ríos province of Ecuador, a huge bird struck through the windshield of a crop duster plane mid-air. Fortunately, the pilot Ariel Valiente managed to control the situation.#aircraft #safety #aviation pic.twitter.com/73MeyIaw5s
— FL360aero (@fl360aero) June 14, 2023
It is unclear what species of bird it may be with some people suggesting it may have been an Andean Condor, which can have a wingspan of up to 3.2m.
Another person posted: “Poor bird. This is one of my worries while flying.”
In April a plane had to perform an emergency landing after a bird flew into the engine.
The incident took place during Avianca airline's AV9377 flight from San Andrés Island to Bogotá in Colombia.
Video footage showed flames shooting out of one of the Aircraft's engines shortly after takeoff.
