Beast vs Machine - parts 1 and 2 [Deer vs Plane, Alligator vs Car]

Free New Mexican ^ | February 2, 2006

[SJackson]

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Wildlife tangles with machinery in these two oddities:

Small plane strikes deer on airport runway

BESSEMER, Alabama (AP) - A small airplane struck a deer while attempting to land on the runway of the Bessemer airport, forcing the plane to fly on and make an emergency landing in Birmingham, Alabama.

The pilot of the single engine plane was warned about a herd of deer on the runway before a landing attempt Wednesday evening, said Abe Alibrahim, the airport owner. The plane avoided most of the herd, he said, but struck one of the animals with its landing gear.

The aircraft continued onto the Birmingham International Airport, about 20 miles (32.2 kilometers) away, where the four-seater Cessna 172 Skyhawk landed safely. The pilot, the only person aboard the plane, was uninjured, said Patty Howell, spokeswoman for the Birmingham airport.

The plane's landing gear was "significantly damaged," she said.

Alibrahim said a similar incident occurred at the Bessemer airport four to six years ago. The airport is enclosed by a fence.

Such incidents involving wildlife are not uncommon, especially on runways in rural areas, said Paul Turk, a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration. Turk said the FAA has been notified about the incident in Bessemer.

"It usually works to the disadvantage of the deer," he said.

Leaping crocodile slams into car in northern Australia

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - This was an auto accident with a difference. A 2-meter (6.5-foot) saltwater crocodile leapt out of a roadside culvert and slammed into the side of a passing car, authorities said Thursday.

The crocodile died in the collision and was given to local Aborigines, who ate it, said Garry Lindner, crocodile management officer at the Kakadu National Park in northern Australia.

"It was probably startled and it just leaped in the wrong direction once it heard the vehicle coming," Lindner said. "The driver barely had time to respond and the (crocodile) become a road fatality."

Lindner said that at this time of year when northern Australia is drenched by monsoon rains it is common for crocodiles to move about looking for food and a place to bask.

The reptile was able to leap with "all four feet off the ground" because it was still young and agile, Lindner said.

Saltwater crocodiles can grow up to 7 meters (23 feet) in length.

The incident is the latest in a series of reports of drivers being confronted by crocodiles in Kakadu and has prompted calls for Northern Territory residents to watch for the reptiles when driving near waterways, particularly during the wet season.

[null and void]

What a croc!

[Keith in Iowa]

The local airport here has had deer encounters with aircraft - one I know of took out a prop on a plane - they taxied back and found alternate transportation for the passengers.

[Gordongekko909]

The crocodile died in the collision and was given to local Aborigines, who ate it,

Never had crocodile. But alligator sausage is wicked yummy.

[SJackson]

If you'd like to be on or off this Upper Midwest outdoors list, please FRmail me.

[ansel12]

Deer hate humans, killing more Americans than any other animal. The most common method of attack is to leap through the windshield of an automobile to get at the passengers.

[SandRat]

Well this one didn't work out to well

CarHorseOOPS Die Aufnahme vom 16.04.2003 zeigt einen spektakulären Verkehrsunfall im mittelfränkischen Hausen/Forchheim, bei dem ein Pferd durch die Frontscheibe eines Fahrzeuges geschleudert wurde. Vier Pferde waren am Abend von einem benachbarten Grundstück auf die Straße gelaufen. Ein Haflinger wurde vom Pkw gerammt und landete auf dem Beifahrersitz. Der 26-jährige Fahrer blieb außer einem Schock unverletzt, das Tier wurde getötet. Foto: Klaus Ponner dpa/lby

The picture of 16.04.2003 shows a spectacular traffic accident in Franconian/Forchheim in which a horse was hurled into the windshield of a vehicle. Four horses had run in the evening of a neighboring plot of land on the street. A Haflinger was struck by the automobile driver and landed on the passenger's seat. The 26-year-old driver was unharmed, but in shock, the animal was killed. Photo: Klaus Ponner dpa/lby

[null and void]

Never horse around when driving...

[jra]

The Bessemer airport hasn't always had that fence. Before it was there, I used to take my telescope out there.

[Jeff Head]

When in Anchorage visiting in the early 1990s, I came upon an accident just a few minutes after it happened where a small foreigh sporstcar had clipped the legs on a Moose. The large animal fell sideways onto the hood and went through the windshield, instanly killing the driver and a passenger.

Emergency people were already there...but there was nothing to be done.

[OldPossum]

Such incidents involving wildlife are not uncommon, especially on runways in rural areas...

There's an old saying to the effect that if you know something about a subject of a newspaper article, you can detect at least one falsehood in it. In this instance, I am doubtful about the Bessemer airport being in a "rural area" unless it was relocated. Bessemer is a densely-populated city right next to Birmingham (the airport in the latter city could be 20 miles away from Bessemer since I think it is northeast of the city itself).

I write all this since the article gives the impression that Bessemer is located in a rural area. It is not.

[jra]

A lot of development has occurred out there, but the airport is in an area that's still pretty bucolic (relatively speaking).

[Mind-numbed Robot]

A clear case of survival of the fittest. Evolution in action. The car won so its offspring will survive, at leat until the next "fittest" comes along.