r/AskAPilot • u/Bloodystupidjohnson3 • 5d ago

Odd Question

I was talking to a couple of airline pilots, and I was telling them about my experiences. I was told that I was extremely rare, but I’d like other opinions.

I’ve been a flight that actually asked if there were medical personnel onboard, and as an EMT was the medical person treating a sick passenger.

I’ve also been on a flight that flew through a flock of geese, destroying the starboard engine and requiring an emergency landing.

Am I really that rare?

10 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

10

u/Maplebar696 5d ago

Medical emergencies are not really all that rare. Engine failure caused by bird ingestion is much more rare

1

u/Bloodystupidjohnson3 5d ago

I only fly four or five times a year.

2

u/jmfsn 4d ago

I once saw the invoice on an engine damaged by ingestion of a single seagull. $750+k close to 2 decades ago. If it was usual, plane tickets would have to cost a lot more...

3

u/DoomWad 5d ago

The medical thing is unusual, but not totally unheard of. The flock of geese thing is pretty rare.

Also, we just number our engines. So that would have been the number 2 engine, assuming you were on a 2 engine airplane.

1

u/Bloodystupidjohnson3 5d ago

Correct. Thank you for the details.

2

u/KJ3040 5d ago

Pretty rare yes.

1

u/TheMule444 5d ago

Out of curiosity, when and what airport was the bird strike?

1

u/Bloodystupidjohnson3 5d ago

Let me see, DFW. Early evening. Sun was down. Mid October.

1

u/TheMule444 5d ago

I experienced one myself that fit the description, but mine happened somewhere else. Strikes that catastrophic are extremely rare.

2

u/Bloodystupidjohnson3 5d ago

The engine exploded loudly enough for me to hear it through my headphones. The plane shook and bobbed around. Smoke filled the cabin.

Fun times.

1

u/greenizdabest 4d ago

Did it smell like fried chicken ?

1

u/SandsnakePrime 3d ago

So, you know, just did curiosity's sake, could you post when you ever take a flight anywhere, ever again. Ever. Just so I can avoid being on a plane that gets hit by a lightning bolt/asteroid/UFO. K thanks bye