Single engine small aircraft pilot reports a collision with an object; possibly a small uav; at 4;80...

Attributes
ACN	1258130
Time
Date	201504
Local Time Of Day	0601-1200
Place
Locale Reference	LVK.Airport
State Reference	CA
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Climb
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Function	Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Commercial
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 107 Flight Crew Total 6390 Flight Crew Type 2170
Events
Anomaly	Ground Event / Encounter Object Inflight Event / Encounter Object
Miss Distance	Horizontal 0 Vertical 0

Narrative:

Departing lvk during climbout at approx 4800 feet we felt a bump in the airframe; and heard a thud. No other anomalies were noted; and after discussion and evaluation of the aircraft instruments and visual areas of the airframe; we continued on to destination. After landing I examined the aircraft and found a 3 inch long damaged area on the lower nose cowl; and scratch marks on the back of 2 of the 3 propeller blades near the propeller root and at a position consistent with the nose damage. No other damage was noted. The aircraft was subsequently inspected by an inspection authority (ia) [mechanic] and confirmed to be airworthy.I believe we struck a small uav being operated in the vicinity of the del valle reservoir; in violation of the applicable fars. If the device had been 1 foot higher; it likely would have impacted the windshield with devastating results.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Single engine small aircraft pilot reports a collision with an object; possibly a small UAV; at 4;800 feet over the Del Valle reservoir after departing LVK. Scratches on the cowling and two of the three propeller blades were noted on post flight.

Narrative: Departing LVK during climbout at approx 4800 feet we felt a bump in the airframe; and heard a thud. No other anomalies were noted; and after discussion and evaluation of the aircraft instruments and visual areas of the airframe; we continued on to destination. After landing I examined the aircraft and found a 3 inch long damaged area on the lower nose cowl; and scratch marks on the back of 2 of the 3 propeller blades near the propeller root and at a position consistent with the nose damage. No other damage was noted. The aircraft was subsequently inspected by an Inspection Authority (IA) [mechanic] and confirmed to be airworthy.I believe we struck a small UAV being operated in the vicinity of the Del Valle reservoir; in violation of the applicable FARs. If the device had been 1 foot higher; it likely would have impacted the windshield with devastating results.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Single engine small aircraft pilot reports a collision with an object; possibly a small uav; at 4;800 feet over the del valle reservoir after departing lvk. Scratches on the cowling and two of the three propeller blades were noted on post flight.