A small aircraft pilots reported striking several geese in cruise flight. He chose to divert; a temp...

Attributes
ACN	854606
Time
Date	200909
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	MFI.Airport
State Reference	WI
Environment
Flight Conditions	IMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Small Aircraft Low Wing 1 Eng Fixed Gear
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Cruise
Route In Use	Direct
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Function	Pilot Not Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 25 Flight Crew Total 5500 Flight Crew Type 100
Person 2
Function	Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Commercial
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 60 Flight Crew Total 3600 Flight Crew Type 400
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural FAR Inflight Event / Encounter Bird / Animal

Narrative:

We were IFR in IMC conditions at 4000 ft MSL. Suddenly in the windscreen was a flock of 12+ geese. There was no time for evasive action. There were three to four audible impacts between the geese and the aircraft. The aircraft seemed to fly well afterward; but a diversion was in order. We notified ATC of the situation and asked for nearby airports with prevailing winds in line with runway headings. We looked at the nearest airport (viq) and determined that the crosswind was likely beyond the capabilities of the aircraft. Mfi was selected as an acceptable diversion. Post landing a phone call was made back to ATC to notify them of our successful arrival. Post shut down we inspected the aircraft and noticed that we had encountered at least two bird strikes; one on the right side of the aircraft; one on the left. The strike on the left side of the aircraft resulted in a hole in the wheel fairing. Consulting with both maintenance and local on-airfield maintenance a temporary repair was made enabling continuation to destination. Although a repair was made; no official maintenance release was conducted and there was no ferry permit issued for the flight.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A small aircraft pilots reported striking several geese in cruise flight. He chose to divert; a temporary repair was made to minimal damage. Continued the flight without securing a ferry permit.

Narrative: We were IFR in IMC conditions at 4000 FT MSL. Suddenly in the windscreen was a flock of 12+ geese. There was no time for evasive action. There were three to four audible impacts between the geese and the aircraft. The aircraft seemed to fly well afterward; but a diversion was in order. We notified ATC of the situation and asked for nearby airports with prevailing winds in line with runway headings. We looked at the nearest airport (VIQ) and determined that the crosswind was likely beyond the capabilities of the aircraft. MFI was selected as an acceptable diversion. Post landing a phone call was made back to ATC to notify them of our successful arrival. Post shut down we inspected the aircraft and noticed that we had encountered at least two bird strikes; one on the right side of the aircraft; one on the left. The strike on the left side of the aircraft resulted in a hole in the wheel fairing. Consulting with both Maintenance and local on-airfield Maintenance a temporary repair was made enabling continuation to destination. Although a repair was made; no official maintenance release was conducted and there was no ferry permit issued for the flight.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.