I Learned About Flying From That

Walter F. Davis

Sunday, January 14, 2007 at 10:00 AM ET

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Key Takeaways:

A test pilot flying an Experimental Lancair experienced a severe mid-air collision with a large turkey vulture, which penetrated the right side of the windscreen, filling the cockpit with debris and causing a loss of throttle control.
Despite the unexpected damage and compromised controls, the pilot maintained composure, creatively used the mixture control to regulate engine power, and successfully landed the aircraft.
The pilot sustained only a minor injury, later learning the throttle issue was due to a missing cotter pin, and the incident reinforced the importance of vigilance against bird hazards at low altitudes, particularly near airports.

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On the afternoon of September 3, 1996, I had just taken off from the Mineral Wells, Texas, airport where I worked as a test pilot for an autopilot manufacturer. The aircraft I was flying was an Experimental Lancair (N353RD), and I was conducting a test on an S-Tec 50 autopilot. Another pilot was supposed to have gone with me on this flight, but his weight would have adversely affected the aircraft’s center of gravity and I was doing a CG sensitive test. He would later thank me for not taking him along.

After takeoff on Runway 17, I turned southwest toward the neck of the woods where my wife and I live, approximately seven miles from the airport. I liked to fly over our house at 500-feet agl and look at the property, and my wife was usually home so she could get a glimpse of what I was flying that particular day.