BRAZIL, Dec 7: A Brazilian pilot had a close call after a vulture smashed through his cockpit window, leaving the lifeless bird dangling in front of him for the remainder of the flight. The incident, which took place on Thursday, Dec. 5, involved a single-engine aircraft ferrying five passengers from Envira to Eirunepé in Brazil’s Amazonas state.

The pilot, who has remained unnamed, shared details of the bizarre accident with Jam Press, saying, “It was a close call!” The bird, identified as a buzzard, collided head-on with the aircraft, breaking the windscreen before its body hung in front of the pilot like a grotesque dashboard ornament.

Despite the unexpected and unsettling turn of events, the pilot remained calm and managed to land the plane safely at Eirunepé airport, with no reported injuries to any passengers. In the post-crash footage, the pilot can be heard explaining the unusual situation to the passengers onboard.

One relieved passenger remarked, “We thought we wouldn’t get out alive. It’s a miracle the pilot managed to land with that right in his face.”

The pilot later explained that the bird strike might have been more likely than it seemed. He pointed to the rubbish dump located near the airport, which attracts large numbers of vultures, creating a significant risk to aircraft approaching the area.

Local news outlets confirmed that flocks of vultures scavenging at the dump pose a consistent danger to flights. This is not the first bird-related incident involving pilots. In June 2023, an Ecuadorian aviator was struck by a large bird in mid-flight, with some speculating that it could have been an Andean Condor, a giant buzzard with a wingspan of up to 9 feet.