“Alaska Airlines flight 66 hit and killed a bear while landing here in Yakutat last night. No one on the plane was injured and her cub survived. Friends on the plane said that they definitely felt a “bump”. The airplane remains on the tarmac in Yakutat.” –Robert E-bear Johnson
Bummer news out of Yakutat Alaska where a brown bear was killed after a 737 clipped it with its engine while landing. Anchorage News reports in the predawn hours of Saturday morning, the Alaska Airlines plane coming in from Cordova was cleared for landing at Yakutat Airport after airport personnel scanned the runway for obstacles.
Sometime between the all-clear signal and the 737 landing, a momma griz and her cub wandered onto the tarmac. The aircraft struck the bear with its left engine after touchdown and came to a stop before taxing to the gate. No one on board the plane was injured. The 2-year-old cub that was with its mom avoided the jet. The airplane remains grounded in Yakutat:
