This serious incident occurred back on April 20th 2008 and went very close to bring down the aircraft.
The F-111 was flying at 900m (approx. 3000ft) on a test bombing raid over Evans Head, in northern NSW, when a pelican struck the fiberglass nose and smashed the radome before being sucked into an engine. Its impact smashed the plane’s ray-dome before causing an immediate engine failure!
Aviation experts said flying the plane would have been extremely difficult because the whole aircraft would have been unstable. A RAAF spokesman admitted the 30-minute flight path back to Amberley, 50km west of Brisbane, was over built-up areas with “One engine was working fine, while the other was at reduced power.”
From memory I understand that immediately after the bird impact, both engines failed. The pilot instantly put the aircraft in a climb to gain as much height as possible and then considered if an ejection and a change of underwear as required.
As the was ‘some height’ the pilot attempted a re-start of both engines, one engine re-started with reasonable power though the other engine was seriously crook.
The crew then conducted a flight controllability and upon believing they were able to handle the seriously damaged aircraft opted to return the Amberley at reduced power, etc and made a successful landing back at Amberley.
Not a bad feat as Evans Head to Amberley direct is approx. some 185 kms.
