Video Shows Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet Spewing Fire After Bird Strike

The Blue Angels suffered a potential class B mishap April 21st when the Solo #5 jet suffered a bird strike into one of its engines. The aftermath was caught on video during the Vero Beach Air Show. It shows the Hornet spewing flame in bursts from the damaged turbine. That being said the aircraft seemed to continue in level flight and the pilot was able to land the aircraft without incident.

2018 has been a rough year for military aviation



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a reply to: FredT

Something happened to #5 at the Luke Days show too. I have pictures showing 1-6 flying, then suddenly about halfway through the show, suddenly there were two #4s airborne.

I wonder what size and kind of bird that was. I can't imagine a small one, like a sparrow, would do that, but maybe it would. He got lucky, I guess.

Still not quite as amazing as Randy Johnson knocking that bird dead on a fastball though!

a reply to: X88B88

No idea what kind of bird it was but I can tell you this as a former USAF photographer who photographed numerous bird strikes and engine teardowns. Jet engines and turbine fans don't like birds at all and come apart in pieces. My worst one was on a J-57 that was on the engine test stand and they left a spanner wrench in the intake and started the engine. Even the test cell got torn up from flying metal fragments. My best,

a reply to: X88B88

I've seen blades get broken by rocks going through an engine. Engines don't like any kind of debris going down them, especially at higher power settings. Even small birds are going to tear up an engine.

a reply to: FredT

Wow, that was no small birdie! I almost thought it was a drone for a moment.

The bird and the Hornet obviously must be equally far away from the camera, and the Hornet is some 55 feet long, so counting pixels from this still image i pulled from the video puts it at around 4.5 feet. At least:

13 and 164 solid pixels respectively (and thus (13/164)*55 feet = 4.36 feet), but likely the bird is both underrepresented pixelwise due to several layers of compression and encoding, and at a more odd angle then the Hornet.

So I'd say the bird was 5 feet easily.

(no, I am not getting at anything, it is just, well, procrastination.. )

originally posted by: X88B88
I wonder what size and kind of bird that was. I can't imagine a small one, like a sparrow, would do that, but maybe it would. He got lucky, I guess.

Still not quite as amazing as Randy Johnson knocking that bird dead on a fastball though!

Well, my above post is hereby dedicated to you then - it should at least ballpark the size of the bird.

a reply to: DupontDeux

Bird and camera are moving in opposite directions though so it's likely half the calculation.

Shredded tweet.

a reply to: X88B88

The local newspaper here in Vero Beach stated it was a Buzzard.

Tastes like shredded chicken.


If the other link doesn't work.

Dupe.

The bird only caused $1M in damage, making this a Class B accident.

a reply to: gariac

yeah well jet engines on FA-18's are kinda sensitive hence FOD walk downs daily on the flight line

a reply to: gariac

yeah well jet engines on FA-18's are kinda sensitive hence FOD walk downs daily on the flight line