Aircraft collides with Zebra

skydiver386

skydiver386

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See, y'all didn't agree with me on the "What is your nemesis" thread. Those Zabra's got to go. :sneaky:
5H-HLL-accident-c-via-Twitter-original-source-unknown-768x495.jpg

8 October 2026​

Tanzanian EMB-120 diverted to Kilimanjaro after colliding with zebra during Serengeti take-off​

Turboprop suffered landing-gear collapse on touchdown following wildlife strike.

After touching down at Kilimanjaro the aircraft's left main landing-gear collapsed
 
It'll be interesting to see if they pulled the gear up after or left it down after takeoff.
 
For those with African aviation experience..... Now what?

Do you fly in a mechanics crew to work on the plane remotely or if the cost is prohibitive what do you do with the totaled out plane in a remote area?
 
I keep telling people that Zebra are not nice cuddly animals. They are mean and will bite your arm off if given a chance. Zebra taking on an airplane proves my point.
 
TIA story right here, got to keep those zebra’s at bay.
Chances of have a radical Zebra taking out your aircraft is low but never zero. It must have been part of a radical animals rights group.
 
Hitting wildlife on a runway is an interesting experience. I used to fly in/out of a small commuter airport out in the country for work all the time. I was on a Beechcraft 1900 commuter flight one Friday evening, coming in for a landing, when we hit an exceptionally large whitetail deer on the runway. Back in those days, before 9/11, they used to keep the cockpit door open during the flight. I remember one of the pilots yelling "oh shit" just as we touched down. Things went instantly squirrelly at that point. The deer took out the left landing gear, mangled the left prop, and spun the airplane around into the grass on the side of the runway. Definitely a high-speed stop to say the least. Fortunately, none of the three of us passengers, or the pilots, on the plane were hurt.
I flew back out of the same airport the following Monday morning. Jokingly, I asked one of the pilots if they were going to take it easy on the wildlife this morning. Can't say they were overly amused by my comment.
 
Andrew NOLA said:
I wonder what caliber that airplane was?
Click to expand...
Caliber Embraer EMB 120, it’s a Brazilian caliber, usually preferred for a Spinosaurus, heard some guys used it in 2001 on Isla Sorna. Results vary for some users
 
An aircraft dropped on its frame, at speed, from a landing gear collapse will be enormously damaged. Bent airframe, destroyed engine, etc. It’s not a simple mechanic job, and it will be lucky to be ever airworthy again. If it is fixable, the cost of repairs will be a large percentage of its value.
 
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Many years ago I was flying with a couple of guys on a tiny cessna 172 out to a place in the masai mara that had been a ranch owned by the DuPont family decades prior.. it hadnt been maintained very well and just had an old dirt strip available to land on... we had to pull up at the very last second during our landing.. a couple of warthog ran out in front of us just before we touched down... we circled back around and approached again, and had to waive off a second time because of gazelle stammering around on the airstrip...

we finally got down on the third attempt.. the pilot acted like it was no big deal.. he dealt with stuff like that all the time lol..
 
BryceM said:
An aircraft dropped on its frame, at speed, from a landing gear collapse will be enormously damaged. Bent airframe, destroyed engine, etc. It’s not a simple mechanic job, and it will be lucky to be ever airworthy again. If it is fixable, the cost of repairs will be a large percentage of its value.
Click to expand...
That left wing and engine are likely toast.
 
BryceM said:
An aircraft dropped on its frame, at speed, from a landing gear collapse will be enormously damaged. Bent airframe, destroyed engine, etc. It’s not a simple mechanic job, and it will be lucky to be ever airworthy again. If it is fixable, the cost of repairs will be a large percentage of its value.
Click to expand...
Ain’t nothin that a couple rolls of duct tape, flex seal, flex seal tape and a rubber band can’t fix. Not sure what the rubber band is for ya always need one.
 
My home base, had a fairly large deer herd and night landings were always interesting. It got to the point where "sharpshooters" were brought in and drives were conducted to reduce their numbers. I do remember a Piper Cherokee hit a deer one night and took off one of the mains.
 
Taking off in a 172, I once ran over a darting rabbit. It made a very loud impact, and knocked the right wheel fairing askew. (I was alone in the left seat, but took a photo with my phone.) I continued on to my destination (a much bigger airport with an A&P and more facilities), and did a fly-by so that the ground crew could confirm that my wheel was still straight. Landed without incident.

I can't imagine hitting a zebra with a bizjet, wow.
That EMB-120 will be sitting at Kilimanjaro airport for a while.

Many airports advise to watch out for wildlife, and I've had to buzz a few fields to shoo away runway critters. That must be routine in Africa!
 
My wife and I will be flying in and out of that very airport in December. She wasn’t thrilled to see this story.
 
 
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