Passenger plane hits bear on runway in Alaskan airport

The mother bear was killed in the collision orphaning her cub. Photo / Unsplash

An Alaska Airlines plane has reported hitting a family of brown bears on the runway of Yakutat on Saturday, in a potentially dangerous incident. An animal was killed and damage was done to the jet plane. No person involved was hurt, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

The female brown bear and her cub were on the runway of the coastal town when the flight from Cordova came in to land.

According to the Alaska Department of Transportation ground crew had cleared the runway 10 minutes before arrival and had not noticed any signs of wildlife during the check.

However by the time the Boeing 737-700 came in to approach the bear and cub had found their way onto the tarmac. There was no attempt at a 'go around' and the flight crew did not report seeing the bear until after the incident.

"The nose gear missed the bears, but the captain felt an impact on the left side after the bears passed under the plane," read a statement from the airline.

Plane pilots reported seeing the "bear lying about 20 feet (6 metres) off the centre of the runway," after coming to a stop.

Bump: Damage done to the left jet engine. Photo / Robert E Johnson

R E Johnson who was waiting for friends arriving on flight 66, said that "they definitely felt a 'bump'." Johnson took a photo of the left jet engine which had clearly been damaged in the impact.

The plane which was due to continue to Juno was taken out of service, and remains in Yakutat.

"Our maintenance technicians are working to repair the plane, which will take a couple of days," said the airline.

The Alaska Airlines 737 was taken out of service for maintenance. Photo / Miguel Angel Sanza, Unsplash

The mother bear was killed by the impact but her cub, thought to be around 2 years old, survived. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game have been tasked with removing the remains. The orphaned cub had fled the airfield but is expected to be able to fend for itself.

Yakutat Airport is protected by fencing, according to the Anchorage Daily News, and wildlife checks are conducted before flight arrivals.

However this has not stopped previous incidents involving caribou and deer being hit by arriving aircraft. This is however the first report of a bear being hit by an aircraft, according to the Department of Transport.