If 2020 couldn’t get any wilder, an Alaska Airlines jet was damaged after hitting a wild bear that was crossing the runway with her cubs.
Alaska Airlines flight 66 hit and killed a bear while landing here in Yakutat last night. No one on the plane was…
Posted by Robert E-bear Johnson on Sunday, November 15, 2020
Anchorage Daily News (ADN) reported that it happened at the Yakutat Airport on Saturday, November 14th, 2020, as flight 66 was landing. The Boeing 737-700 hit the sow bear instantly killing her. Her cubs that were about two years old were uninjured.
“The nose gear missed the bears, but the captain felt an impact on the left side after the bears passed under the plane,” ADN reported.
The pilot said he saw the bear laying about 20 feet from the center of the runway as he taxied the plane into parking just before 6:30pm. Fortunately, nobody on board the plane was injured due to the collision.
“Our maintenance technicians are working to repair the plane, which will take a couple of days,” Alaska Airlines said, according to ADN.
Passengers for the plane’s next flight were picked up by flight 107. The airport’s crew members said that they cleared the runway 10 minutes before the plane landed and didn’t see any signs of wildlife but it was dark so that maybe how it went unnoticed.
As for the carcass, it was removed from the runway area and handed over to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.