2025-08 · NASA ASRS report 2279232
Pilot reported a collision with a possible UAS or bird during departure. No evasive action was made and the flight continued without incident.
Two weeks ago I departed Lima @ XA:30am on flight ABCD. We were informed after take-off by Lima Radar that a drone had been spotted around the Gelim intersection at around 8000ft moving west to east. We were in the area and ultimately didn't ever see the drone. Yesterday; I departed Lima; Peru from RW16L on the same flight and on the departure before Gelim at 5000ft we struck an indeterminate object coming from the south just aft of the radome on the underside of the aircraft. We didn't experience any adverse reaction to the encounter and after consultation with dispatch we continued the flight without incident. I wrote up the incident in the Logbook as a suspected bird strike. Due to the high closure rate of the object; I wasn't able to get a clean look; but suspect it was probably a drone due to the size and the altitude in which we struck the object. I believe this is a burgeoning threat in the Lima area and I am concerned that if this trend continues this could be a serious threat to aviation safety.The only way to mitigate the risks in this particular situation is to remove the threat of drones in the area.
Source: NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (public domain). Reports are voluntary submissions and are not verified by NASA.
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