Time Building & Night Bird Strike in a Cessna 150E

Eric and I took his Cessna 150E up for a night time-building flight across Northern Utah. Departing Tooele Valley (KTVY), we headed north to Logan (KLGU) before turning back south.

Cruising over the Great Salt Lake, we enjoyed incredible sunset views over the water on our right. Continuing south past Tooele, we looped east into Utah Valley and cut back north through the Point of the Mountain toward South Valley Regional (U42).

The In-Flight Impact

I was at the controls flying the approach into U42 when a shadow flashed across the distant city lights ahead. In less than half a second, I realized it was a bird, immediately followed by two distinct thunks against the airframe.

Eric and I quickly scanned the engine gauges and flight controls, keeping close tabs on aircraft performance for any signs of critical damage or vibration that would demand immediate action. The C150 felt completely stable and controls remained fully responsive, so we executed the planned touch-and-go at U42 and completed the brief flight back home to KTVY.

Flashlights on the ramp revealed blood and feather spray along the left main gear fairing.

Post-Flight Inspection

Once shut down on the ramp at Tooele, our flashlights revealed the full story: blood spattered across the left main gear fairing and sprayed all the way up the left wing strut to the underside of the wing.

The bird likely dove to avoid the aircraft and caught the lower half of the propeller disk, sending debris along the left side. Fortunately, the airframe suffered no structural damage, making it an eventful but safe lesson in night ops and immediate post-impact assessment.