Narrative:

I had planned a VFR flight. Since this was to be a night flight I specifically confirmed that beacon; navigational position lights; taxi light; landing light; and strobes were all operational. While I did not file a flight plan; I did request flight following services for the entire route of flight from takeoff to landing. Conditions were at night. Runway lights were illuminated. Visibility was good. Our aircraft is equipped with 'pulse' lights; which I generally turn on after liftoff. After raising the gear and flaps I turned on the pulse lights. At approximately 1;000 AGL the tower controller said approx 'turn left and contact approach'. I initiated my turn; reset the GPS direct ash; turned on the autopilot; and contacted approach. At some point in the climb I turned off the pulse lights. I generally turn them on in the vicinity of an airport; but generally do not leave them on for the duration of the flight.approximately 8 minutes after takeoff the approach controller said approx; 'primary target; slow moving; northeast bound not well defined; possible bird activity'. I replied approx 'well; I'll keep an eye out'. However; my thoughts were: it is night time; I am not going to see anything. It is night; the birds should be on the ground. Geese should not be traveling northeast bound. I was at 5;000 ft and climbing; birds would not normally be this high. The aircraft is equipped with tis. I always check tis when I receive reports of traffic; even if they say 'primary target' which would not show up on tis. I saw nothing on tis. I was actively scanning; looking for aircraft position lights. I generally turn on the pulse lights when there is traffic in the area. However; in this case I believe I did not turn on the pulse lights.a few seconds later; approximately 10 seconds after the call from the approach controller; I heard a loud bang and felt cold wind in the cockpit. I saw something white float through the air and assumed it was a feather. I looked around and saw that the copilot side window was broken. A jagged opening near the aft and lower part of the window; in front of the door post. I saw no other damage. At the point of impact I estimate that I was at 5;200 ft and climbing at 500 FPM. The aircraft autopilot was coupled to the GPS; maintaining course. I estimate indicated air speed at 130 KTS. I radioed the approach controller and said approx 'have had a bird strike'. The controller asked if I needed assistance. I said approx 'I am ok; the aircraft seems ok; a side window is broken; I will be returning; I will be slowing down'. He asked if I needed emergency assistance or a heading vector. I said that I thought I was ok and that no emergency assistance was needed. Other than the wind and noise; the aircraft seemed to be in good operative condition. I was clearly feeling some level of emotional shock; but felt fully in control of the aircraft and the situation. I selected the destination on my GPS and flew direct; coupled to autopilot. Speed was reduced to approximately 120 KTS in the descent. The approach controller was very attentive; asking if I needed a heading vector; asking if I needed assistance. I considered asking for vectors to final. The approach controller handed me off to the tower controller. The tower controller said that winds were 270 at 10. I was aware of my altitude and aware of the need to get my gear down. Relatively close to the airport I lowered gear; put in 10 degrees of flaps; and went through pre-landing checklist.I landed just fine; exiting runway 29 at taxiway delta. The tower controller cleared me to taxi to parking with her. While on taxiway C I thanked her and asked her to thank the approach controller. I said that the approach controller had done a good job. She said that a supervisor was 'right next to her' and that he would listen to the tapes. After shutdown I examined the aircraft. Full examination was difficult because it was night. However; I was able to see some feathers and blood in the copilot window frame and on the jagged plexiglas remnants. In addition; dried blood spots were visible on the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer. I returned early the next morning; to photograph and better examine the aircraft. There is no apparent additional damage; other than the broken plexiglas; neither the window frame nor door frame seem bent. I estimate the total surface area broken out of the copilot side window to be approximately 100 square inches. I estimate primary point of impact to be 4 inches up from the bottom of the window frame; and 4 inches forward of the aft part of the window frame. Most of the broken pieces of plexiglas seem to be inside the cockpit. I could find no bird remains inside the cockpit; although I believe there probably is a feather in there someplace. I removed a few small downy feathers and a few small pieces of bloody plexiglas and put them in a plastic bag. That is currently in my possession. The leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer is speckled with blood. I was unable to find any tissue. I examined the exposed trim-tab mechanism to ensure that there was no damage or bird tissue in that mechanism. There appears to be no physical damage to the horizontal stabilizer. It seems strange that a bird could get past the prop and hit a glancing blow on the side window. The FBO head of maintenance and I both think that the bird must have been just outside of the prop; but must have been caught in the prop wash and struck a glancing blow against the window.I do not know what type of bird it was. I originally thought it must have been a goose; but other experienced pilots have told me that it could well have been a flock of smaller birds. In hindsight; I do not know of anything that I could/would have done differently. It was nighttime so I could not see birds. Even if had been daytime; I probably could not have seen birds in time to take evasive action.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C182 pilot reported a night birdstrike that resulted in a broken window and a return for landing.

Narrative: I had planned a VFR flight. Since this was to be a night flight I specifically confirmed that beacon; navigational position lights; taxi light; landing light; and strobes were all operational. While I did not file a flight plan; I did request flight following services for the entire route of flight from takeoff to landing. Conditions were at night. Runway lights were illuminated. Visibility was good. Our aircraft is equipped with 'pulse' lights; which I generally turn on after liftoff. After raising the gear and flaps I turned on the pulse lights. At approximately 1;000 AGL the Tower Controller said approx 'turn left and contact Approach'. I initiated my turn; reset the GPS direct ASH; turned on the autopilot; and contacted Approach. At some point in the climb I turned off the pulse lights. I generally turn them on in the vicinity of an airport; but generally do not leave them on for the duration of the flight.Approximately 8 minutes after takeoff the Approach Controller said approx; 'primary target; slow moving; northeast bound not well defined; possible bird activity'. I replied approx 'Well; I'll keep an eye out'. However; my thoughts were: It is night time; I am not going to see anything. It is night; the birds should be on the ground. Geese should not be traveling northeast bound. I was at 5;000 FT and climbing; birds would not normally be this high. The aircraft is equipped with TIS. I always check TIS when I receive reports of traffic; even if they say 'primary target' which would not show up on TIS. I saw nothing on TIS. I was actively scanning; looking for aircraft position lights. I generally turn on the pulse lights when there is traffic in the area. However; in this case I believe I did not turn on the pulse lights.A few seconds later; approximately 10 seconds after the call from the Approach Controller; I heard a loud bang and felt cold wind in the cockpit. I saw something white float through the air and assumed it was a feather. I looked around and saw that the copilot side window was broken. A jagged opening near the aft and lower part of the window; in front of the door post. I saw no other damage. At the point of impact I estimate that I was at 5;200 FT and climbing at 500 FPM. The aircraft autopilot was coupled to the GPS; maintaining course. I estimate indicated air speed at 130 KTS. I radioed the Approach Controller and said approx 'have had a bird strike'. The Controller asked if I needed assistance. I said approx 'I am OK; the aircraft seems OK; a side window is broken; I will be returning; I will be slowing down'. He asked if I needed emergency assistance or a heading vector. I said that I thought I was OK and that no emergency assistance was needed. Other than the wind and noise; the aircraft seemed to be in good operative condition. I was clearly feeling some level of emotional shock; but felt fully in control of the aircraft and the situation. I selected the destination on my GPS and flew direct; coupled to autopilot. Speed was reduced to approximately 120 KTS in the descent. The Approach Controller was very attentive; asking if I needed a heading vector; asking if I needed assistance. I considered asking for vectors to final. The Approach controller handed me off to the Tower Controller. The Tower Controller said that winds were 270 at 10. I was aware of my altitude and aware of the need to get my gear down. Relatively close to the airport I lowered gear; put in 10 degrees of flaps; and went through pre-landing checklist.I landed just fine; exiting Runway 29 at Taxiway Delta. The Tower Controller cleared me to taxi to parking with her. While on Taxiway C I thanked her and asked her to thank the Approach Controller. I said that the Approach Controller had done a good job. She said that a supervisor was 'right next to her' and that he would listen to the tapes. After shutdown I examined the aircraft. Full examination was difficult because it was night. However; I was able to see some feathers and blood in the copilot window frame and on the jagged Plexiglas remnants. In addition; dried blood spots were visible on the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer. I returned early the next morning; to photograph and better examine the aircraft. There is no apparent additional damage; other than the broken Plexiglas; neither the window frame nor door frame seem bent. I estimate the total surface area broken out of the copilot side window to be approximately 100 square inches. I estimate primary point of impact to be 4 inches up from the bottom of the window frame; and 4 inches forward of the aft part of the window frame. Most of the broken pieces of Plexiglas seem to be inside the cockpit. I could find no bird remains inside the cockpit; although I believe there probably is a feather in there someplace. I removed a few small downy feathers and a few small pieces of bloody Plexiglas and put them in a plastic bag. That is currently in my possession. The leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer is speckled with blood. I was unable to find any tissue. I examined the exposed trim-tab mechanism to ensure that there was no damage or bird tissue in that mechanism. There appears to be no physical damage to the horizontal stabilizer. It seems strange that a bird could get past the prop and hit a glancing blow on the side window. The FBO Head of Maintenance and I both think that the bird must have been just outside of the prop; but must have been caught in the prop wash and struck a glancing blow against the window.I do not know what type of bird it was. I originally thought it must have been a goose; but other experienced pilots have told me that it could well have been a flock of smaller birds. In hindsight; I do not know of anything that I could/would have done differently. It was nighttime so I could not see birds. Even if had been daytime; I probably could not have seen birds in time to take evasive action.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.