Airliner slams into bear on runway while landing at Alaska airport, officials say

An Alaska Airlines flight crew spotted two bears crossing the runway early Saturday while landing at Yakutat Airport in southern Alaska. Then the pilot felt a bump.

The passenger jet’s nose gear had missed the bears, but a left engine cowl struck one of the animals, killing it, KTUU reported. None of the six passengers aboard Flight 66 were injured.

The second bear, a 2-year-old cub, escaped injury, Anchorage Daily News reported. The Boeing 737-700 will be grounded for several days for repairs.

The passengers were flown to Anchorage and rebooked on other flights, KTUU reported.

Airport workers had cleared the runway 10 minutes before the jet’s arrival and did not spot any wildlife at that time, said Sam Dapcevich, a public information officer for the state Department of Transportation, reported the Anchorage Daily News.

Collisions with birds, either in mid-air or on the ground, are not uncommon for airliners in the United States, according to The Atlantic. But plenty of land-dwelling animals also have had fatal encounters with airplanes.

FAA records show collisions with “coyotes, raccoons, skunks, opossums, desert hares, prairie dogs, cats, dogs, foxes, bull snakes, turtles, armadillos, alligators, badgers, at least one woodchuck, an elk (and) an antelope jackrabbit,” among others, the publication reported.

In 1987, an eagle dropped a large fish on the cockpit window of an Alaska Airlines flight during takeoff from Juneau, according to the airline.

“Did we just hit what I think we hit?” pilot Bill Morin asked over the radio, the airline reported. The flight continued to Yakutat, where “a greasy spot” but no damage was found.