Small plane hits giant gator while landing at Orlando airport

Wildlife hazards are nothing new in aviation. But one pilot of a private aircraft likely got more than he bargained for when landing at an Orlando airport last week.

That pilot encountered an 11-foot-long, 500-pound alligator as he attempted to land a small Piper Navajo propeller aircraft at the Orlando Executive Airport around 2 a.m. on June 1. The plane struck the gator as it landed, killing the gator and damaging the aircraft – but leaving Orlando pilot Rick Crose unharmed, according to local news reports.

Though the incident happened late week, it has since gone viral since another pilot posted a post-landing picture on Facebook this week. The image showed Crose standing next to the giant gator on the runway. (See post and photo here)

The post was made to Facebook on Tuesday (June 6) by Brad Pierce. By late Thursday morning (June 8), the post been shared more than 4,000 times.

“I was told the pilot was flying a Navajo and the gator jumped up and struck the wing during his landing,” Piece said in the post. “The gator was killed instantly and the aircraft sustained damage to the wing. One of the craziest things I've ever seen in all my years in aviation. Welcome to Florida folks!”

Orlando Executive Airport spokeswoman Carolyn Fennell confirmed the incident to the Orlando Sentinel, one of the first outlets to pick up on the story after the photo began making the rounds on social media. 

“Fish and Wildlife Service said it was a 500-pound alligator,” she said to the Sentinel.

A trapper eventually removed the alligator's body from the Orlando Executive Airport, a general aviation facility that’s fronted by several lakes.

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Crose, the pilot at the helm of the Piper aircraft, declined to comment to Florida TV stations because he says the Federal Aviation Administration is investigating the incident. 

As unusual as the incident sounds, WKMG TV of Orlando noted it’s not the first time an alligator has caused a problem at a Florida airport.

“The last time a plane in Florida hit an alligator was in 2013 at Southwest Florida International Airport in Fort Myers, according to the Federal Aviation Authority wildlife strike database,” WKMG reported. “Locally, an alligator was struck at Orlando International Airport on Sept. 12, 2012.”

Orlando International is the region’s primary commercial airport that receives the majority of scheduled passenger flights to the city. There have been “four total plane versus alligator collisions” at the airport since 1998, WKMG added, citing the FAA data.

IN PICTURES: 30 cool aviation photos