Coyotes & Runways

Sinistar

Sinistar

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Brad
So my solo endorsement is good up to civil twilight :D. I'm on my last taxiback. sun has just set. I stop at the hold short to look for landing traffic. Then this raggedy coyote just leisurely strolls across the grass and over the runway about 150ft past the numbers angling towards me to within 30 ft away and then behind me. I'm glad I was taking off and not landing :eek:

Another weird one tonight. Minneapolis Center or Approach (still not sure?) was on our unicom (122.8) asking about a MAYDAY. Never heard anything else, hopefully just a false alarm.
 
Last year I hit a young coyote that strolled across the runway just as I touched down one evening. Came across from the right and didn't see me bearing down on him until he was on the stripes. Did the instinctive thing, turned and tried to outrun the plane right down the center of the runway. Fortunately for the plane, ran over him with the nosewheel dead center, missed the props. Tower asked me in disbelief to repeat what I told them. Not a mark on the plane, subsequent gear swing checks were perfect. Airport manager was ****ed he got called to come in from home after hours to remove the body so they could re-open the runway.

My so-called pilot "friends" started emailing me no end of Roadrunner & Wile E Coyote cartoon panels as suggested nose art for the plane.
 
Wow, definitely lucky on the prop and nose wheel!! I gotta admit the Wile E Coyote nose art would be fitting after your "run in" :)
 
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Several airports I fly to have coyotes who have set up shop and they are constantly seen on the runways, taxiways.
My friend totaled his 210 at night when he hit a coyote at El Paso intl, taking out the nosegear on t-o a few years ago.
 
I've heard that giving a border collie free run of the airport grounds reduces pest problems markedly.
 
GRG55 said:
Last year I hit a young coyote that strolled across the runway just as I touched down one evening. Came across from the right and didn't see me bearing down on him until he was on the stripes. Did the instinctive thing, turned and tried to outrun the plane right down the center of the runway. Fortunately for the plane, ran over him with the nosewheel dead center, missed the props. Tower asked me in disbelief to repeat what I told them. Not a mark on the plane, subsequent gear swing checks were perfect. Airport manager was ****ed he got called to come in from home after hours to remove the body so they could re-open the runway.

My so-called pilot "friends" started emailing me no end of Roadrunner & Wile E Coyote cartoon panels as suggested nose art for the plane.
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Coyotes are common here, too. Many times I've had to avoid stepping in coyote poop on the rwy when hooking up gliders.

During my early student days I was doing some pattern work and tower warned us about a turtle on the rwy. My CFI reported, "Turtle in sight!", then told me, "Sorry, but there's something I may never get to say again and I didn't want to miss it."

A huge snapping turtle was working its way across the rwy. Some airport or FBO guy had to grab it and muscle it into the back of his pickup and take it back to its pond.
 
Here in the NY, CT, and MA areas the problem is infinite numbers of Canadian geese on the runways and taxiways.
Sometimes, they don't even move when a plane taxis up to them.

On a lighter note, a bunch of models were coming off a Gulfstream at Oxford, CT for a photo shoot one day and my buddy announced "Foxes on the ramp! There are foxes all over the ramp!"
I don't think the laughter stopped for 15 minutes, the worst offenders being the people in the tower. The guy couldn't stop laughing, and every time the woman said "It's not that funny." everyone would start laughing again.
 
Matthew said:
A huge snapping turtle was working its way across the rwy. Some airport or FBO guy had to grab it and muscle it into the back of his pickup and take it back to its pond.
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An A320 was taxiing to the runway at JFK.

FO: There are turtles on the edge of the taxi way, over there [points].

CA: Herd. There's a herd of turtles...

FO: Of course I've heard of turtles! There's a group of them right there....

CA: [facepalm]
 
When I told the tower at Huntsville that a coyote was racing me down the taxiway after I landed, they said it lived in one of the culverts and kept the rodents away which kept the birds away. I guess they prefer coyotes to birds.
 
Shepherd said:
Here in the NY, CT, and MA areas the problem is infinite numbers of Canadian geese on the runways and taxiways.
Sometimes, they don't even move when a plane taxis up to them.
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Vancouver WA, too. I've had to taxi out onto the runway at midfield, get up within a few feet of the flock of them standing there, and gun the engine to get them to slowly waddle off to the side. I had more go-arounds at KVUO caused by geese than by airplanes. And they'd leave their little calling cards all over the runway and taxiways. By the time I'd taxi back to my hangar the tires would be covered in green goo.

A few years ago a C-152 came to KVUO from another airport on a training flight. On the 'go' part of a touch-and-go they encountered a flock of geese. They took one to the left wing, and one twelve-pouunder went through the windshield, between the CFI and student, all the way through the cabin and aft bulkhead into the tailcone. The airplane landed safely, but needed replacement of three feet of wing leading edge, a new windshield, and an industrial-strength interior detailing job.

We were hoping the resident coyotes would develop a taste for goose.

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I see coyotes at KSGS all the time. As in, I recognize three of them specifically and know where their den is in the brush on the other side of the airport fence. I'm kind of torn about their presence, since they could pose a runway hazaard but at the same time I appreciate how they do a great job of helping to keep the goose/seagull/rabbit problem under control. Having watched a yote bag a goose (as well as a house cat, FWIW) I'm overall a proponent of keeping them around...
 
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Worst part about having Canada geese on the airport is that when they take off they are all over loaded, so they lighten their load, usually over people or freshly washed planes......

And landing once after the geese left, the runway was so covered in crap that the braking action was nil in one short area.
 
I was waiting for a take off clearance last week at FTY and there was a nice 6-8 point buck causally eating near the brush at the approach end of Runway 8. If you look at FTY it's not exactly in a wilderness area! Apparently these are urban deer!
 
Matthew said:
A huge snapping turtle was working its way across the rwy
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I too, have found turtles on the runway.
One runway I use, we try to check for wildlife (antelope trapped inside the fence etc) so a 80mph run up the runway with the truck is standard. Once I saw a rock in the center of the runway. Who the &$! would put a rock there?! I get closer and, nope its a turtle.
PS, the first thing they do when picked up is ___________ ?

Let me look for the video I took of a snake on the runway.
 
I was taxing out from the terminal ramp at NW Arkansas (XNA) and heard the GC talking to someone about Bald Eagles, so I queried him and he told me they were adjacent to the runway edge about 1000' down. We got on the runway and sure enough, 2-3 of them just sitting there, watching us go by on our takeoff roll. Very cool.
 
My favorite wildlife encounter was on a taxiway - I was in a 172 and a hawk was sitting on a taxiway light. I rolled by slowly and we both had a good long look at each other.
 
mscard88 said:
I was taxing out from the terminal ramp at NW Arkansas (XNA) and heard the GC talking to someone about Bald Eagles, so I queried him and he told me they were adjacent to the runway edge about 1000' down. We got on the runway and sure enough, 2-3 of them just sitting there, watching us go by on our takeoff roll. Very cool.
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You mean like this? (I took this 2 summers ago on Beaver Island, Michigan, runway):

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A few miles north of my old home drome in WA is a wildlife refuge. Pilots are “requested” to stay >2000’ AGL over the refuge, lest the waterfowl get PTSD from little airplanes and require costly counseling.

The blue herons were so confused and traumatized that they preferred to hang out on the airport itself, right next to the runup pad. :confused:

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DAY has spent alot of money on new fencing lately due in part to coyotes.
 
It’s a trade off, I prefer no critters, but would take a lone coyote over a flock of geese. I have often back taxied on the runway in the morning to clear the wildlife, mostly of the avian type.

Maybe we need a fenced in ‘dog park’ in the green space next to the runway? Even if they are not loose on the runway, the barking and carrying on would keep much away.
 
I was taxiing into position at Groton, Ct one day and I see something drop out of the sky in front of me. Before I could "what the H...", I see a seagull swoop down and land and then I realized he was using the hard surface of the runway to open oysters. I got the heck out of there before I got pummeled.
 
Dave Theisen said:
I was taxiing into position at Groton, Ct one day and I see something drop out of the sky in front of me. Before I could "what the H...", I see a seagull swoop down and land and then I realized he was using the hard surface of the runway to open oysters.
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How would you explain "midair collision with a clam" to your insurance company ... ?
 
Matthew said:
My favorite wildlife encounter was on a taxiway - I was in a 172 and a hawk was sitting on a taxiway light. I rolled by slowly and we both had a good long look at each other.
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This summer while doing a solo flight at FCM there was a Hawk on a taxi way light by the intersection of 28L / 36. It was cool to see it during the taxi. And then the greenhorn in me told the tower since the Global Expresses, Falcons, Challengers, Citations, Lears and who knows what else blast right by there on takeoff.
 
A few months ago I had to wait on taxiway while a coyote strolled across the runway, pausing to sit down for a moment in the middle. I suppose because there was no other traffic he needn't get in a hurry. :)
 
At Flagstaff one evening, I was taxiing out and a porcupine was going the same way I was, centered on the yellow line. I called ground and apologized for going so slow, but there is a porky on the taxi way and I will give him the right of way. The controller laughed and said he was not talking to him.

Mr. Porky went all the way down to the end of the taxi way, then made a left turn into the grass instead of making a right and getting on the runway.
 
I know one airport with gopher tortoises, which of course are protected. Calls about tortoises on the pavements are sent to an airport employee who has permission to handle them to relocate them to another part of the airport. New staffer comes on board, and for several weeks was relocating them. One day the guy was seen returning from a relocation in a different direction than normal and was asked where he had put the tortoise. "I put them in the pond because that's where turtles live." Too bad they're NOT turtles and as far as anyone knows they all drowned.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Several airports I fly to have coyotes who have set up shop and they are constantly seen on the runways, taxiways. My friend totaled his 210 at night when he hit a coyote at El Paso intl, taking out the nosegear on t-o a few years ago.
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El Paso is known for coyotes ... animal type and human smuggler type:confused:

Pilawt said:
Better on the runway than here:

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:eek:

If there was ever a time to make a really hard landing, this would be it!
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My last rattlesnake encounter was with one that hid in the hangar rail tracks while I was opening the door at night. It struck me in the left foot. I was lucky in that that was th eonly flight ever I was wearing boots. I have an image of the dead thing, but don't know how to embed it here
 
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