Unusual bear attack in Alaska (not graphic)

[Jenn]

Comment: Apparently a bear attacked his plane while parked in a remote field up in AK. He had not cleaned out the inside after a long fishing trip and the bear smelled it.

He had 2 new tires, 3 cases of Duct Tape and several rolls of cellophane delivered. Then went about repairing the plane so he could fly it home.

Gutsy to say the least.

[JoeBentley]

Aircraft tail number N9368D is registered to a Mr. Johnathan L. Miller out of Anchorage Alaska and as a Piper PA-18A 150, so at least that much is true.

http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinqu...umbertxt=9368d

[greenfrog78]

While this is an unusal story, it makes sense to me. A small plane like that is likely to be used for fishing trips in Alaska, bears are known for this kind of behaviour(tearing up vehicles that have food smells coming out of them) and duct tape is some amazing stuff! Using duct tape seems it could very well be a workable short term solution in instance like this. I am curious how the duct tape held up during the flight though.

[Beejtronic]

I'm pretty sure that the fuselage and horizontal stabilizer of the Piper is fabric-covered. (You can see that it hangs off the plane in some of the pictures.) Duct tape wouldn't be a whole lot different from the actual covering, and would probably be alright in flight, if not optimally aerodynamic. The other dents don't seem to be too massive.

Also, in the fifth picture, it looks like he's covered the plane partially in sheet metal, so it seems like he did use more than duct tape to fix it.

[TrekkerScout]

Originally Posted by Beejtronic

I'm pretty sure that the fuselage and horizontal stabilizer of the Piper is fabric-covered. (You can see that it hangs off the plane in some of the pictures.) Duct tape wouldn't be a whole lot different from the actual covering, and would probably be alright in flight, if not optimally aerodynamic. The other dents don't seem to be too massive.

I agree. The only thing I would be worried about would be the structural integrity of the right horizontal stabilizer by the looks of how it was bent.

[snopes]

There's been a story circulating the Internet for a few months now -- a tale about a pilot in Alaska who had to fly home on a wing, a prayer and a case of duct tape after his plane was mauled by a bear. Some say the bear was after fish. Some say he was just being a jerk. And some don't believe the story at all, chalking it up to Last Frontier fish tales and Internet hype.

Turns out, though, this online "myth" is grounded firmly in reality.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispat...te-for-revenge

[Troberg]

As far as I can see, apart from the wheel, there is no structural damage. While ugly, the fix done would probably hold up as a permanent repair if you can stand the look and the extra weight. If he was lazy, he could probably just dress warmly, tape up the control surfaces and leave the fuselage as a bare pipe construction.

Small and slow aircraft is a rather clunky science, it does not have to be perfect to work.

I don't know about the fix, but the pilot seems to have brought quite an amount of duct tape for a hunting trip!