Part of an ongoing weekly series on the history of Alaska by local historian David Reamer. Have a question about Anchorage or Alaska history or an idea for a future article? Go to the form at the bottom of this story.
On April 1, 1987, the front page of the Anchorage Daily News ran an article titled “Jetliner collides with fish.” The story itself was clear. As they had done hundreds of times before, pilots Bill Morin and Bill Johnson took off from Juneau in an Alaska Airlines 737-200. Through the windows they saw an eagle coming out in front of the plane. As the eagle judiciously turned away, it dropped a fish that it was holding. The pilots watched as the fish fell through the air directly toward them until it hit a small window above the cockpit, a collision between a fish in the sky and an airplane.
Someone from the Daily News appreciated the humor in it all. Next to the article was a photo of the West High Eagle mural, composed as if the bird was attacking students. The next day, Peter Dunlap-Shohl, the legendary cartoonist for the Daily News, snapped a photo with a Far Side-esque “When Eagles Go Bad” cartoon.
Planes in Alaska have hit more species of animals than meets the eye. Bird strikes are clearly the most common form of wildlife impact and pose the most consistent threat to flight. As of July 27 this year, there were 18 clear bird strikes in Alaska, according to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Wildlife Strike Database. In collisions between larger aircraft and smaller birds, pilots are sometimes unaware that a strike has taken place, and the only evidence is often carcasses found on airport grounds.
Alaskan bird strikes read like a birder’s checklist, from ravens to owls to squeakers to killdeer. When such information is available, the FAA database is specific. If one wants to search for documented incidents of yellow-crested warblers in America, they can. Similarly, the database also includes two confirmed bat attacks in Alaska over the past 21 years, both in Juneau, in 2002 and 2011.
Aside from birds, planes in Alaska have also collided with many different animals on the ground, including bears, caribou, coyotes, deer, dogs, foxes, minks, moose, muskrats, and porcupines. As with birds, sometimes there was just evidence of an attack, such as when mechanics at Ted Stevens International Airport in 2013 tore the quills of a porcupine from the wheels of a jet fighter. In the past 21 years, there have been no documented cases of cat attacks, or a wild lynx or a domestic cat. Make it what you want.
Though not hit by a plane, in 2017 a bearded seal delayed an outbound and inbound flight at Wiley Post-Will Rogers Memorial Airport in Utqiaġvik. The FAA report notes that the seal was “hanging out about halfway down the runway.” Because it was a marine mammal, flights had to wait until the appropriate authorities could be picked up to move the unruly seal.
[In Utqiaġvik, ‘low sealings’ bring a unique runway hazard]
The most infamous game attack in Alaska in recent years was an Alaska Airlines 737-300 that hit a brown bear while landing at Yakutat in 2020. A sow and her cub lay in the middle of the runway. The strike killed the mother, but the cub was unharmed. No one on board was injured either, although it took a few days to repair the plane itself.
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However, there has been only one fishing strike in recorded history. The collision between the Juneau fish and the Alaska Airlines jetliner occurred on March 30, 1987. Paul Bowers, the Juneau airport manager, who was clearly amused, told the Associated Press: “The law of the jungle prevailed. As the larger bird approached, the smaller bird dropped its prey.”
After the plane collided with the fish, pilot Morin said over the radio, “Did we just hit what I think we hit?” A mechanic carefully checked the plane at their next stop in Yakutat. There was no damage and only minimal evidence of the fish’s final moments. Again, according to Bowers’ quotes, “They found a greasy spot with some scales, but no damage.”
The details of the story have occasionally led to some understandable skepticism. News of the incident broke on April 1, causing the colorful anecdote to hit the front pages of newspapers on April 1. A reasonable person might be suspicious of an improbable – if possible – story that happened to come out all day on that day. To be completely clear, an eagle actually dropped a fish in the path of an Alaska Airlines plane.
The story is somewhat stretched when it comes to the fish species involved. When I first heard the story, I was told with absolute certainty that it was a salmon. Pilot Morin guessed the fish was about 12-18 inches long and may have been a Dolly Varden, appropriate for the season. Alaska Airlines customer service manager Jerry Kvasnikoff said, “If I had to guess, it could be a cod at this time of year. You never know what an eagle will end up in.” Because the pilots, the only eyewitnesses, don’t know for sure, we’ll never know.
Alaskans have been sensitive to wild stories throughout Alaskan history. However, sometimes the stories are true and reflect the wide range of possible experiences here. Sometimes an Alaskan will indeed drive through the doors of a pool hall to win a bet, like Joe Spenard in early Anchorage. Sometimes an Alaskan does indeed fake a volcanic eruption, like Oliver “Porky” Bickar in Sitka in 1974. And sometimes a plane collides with a fish in the sky.
Main Resources:
Federal Aviation Administration, FAA Wildlife Strike Database.
Halpin, James. “Unwanted Mat.” Anchorage Daily News, May 25, 2009, A-1, A-14.
“Jetliner collides with fish.” Anchorage Daily News, Apr 1, 1987, A-1, A-16.
Lindsey, Marianne. “Throwback Thursday: Windshield Sushi-Alaska Airlines Jet really hit a fish in the sky.” Alaska Airlines, February 5, 2015.
Williams, Tess. “Jetliner hits bear on runway in Southeast Alaska.” Anchorage Daily News, Nov. 15, 2020.