Animal strike involving a Cessna 182Q, VH-FMM, 45 km north-north-east of Helen Springs, Northern Territory, on 22 October 1996

The pilot was mustering cattle. He carried two observers in the aircraft. The weather was warm, windy, gusty and moderately turbulent. Hoping to turn the lead cattle towards a bore, he commenced a descent from about 140 ft above the ground while turning downwind. His intention was to level off at about 30 ft abeam the cattle. He planned to maintain an indicated airspeed of 75 to 80 kts with 20 degrees of flap. However, he was unable to arrest the rate of descent through 30 ft. He found himself too low to bank the aircraft successfully away from the cattle for fear of hitting a wing on the ground. With a left quartering tailwind, the aircraft drifted towards the herd. The pilot tried yawing the aircraft and pulling up to avoid the cattle, but the left main landing gear wheel struck a heifer across its back.

Despite tearing off the left main wheel, bending the landing gear leg aft, and killing the heifer, the aircraft remained airborne and eventually gained altitude. The pilot then smelt fuel, which was leaking from a fuel line, broken by the dislodged left landing gear leg. He declared an inflight emergency to flight service and to Helen Springs homestead. Homestead personnel quickly ran a grader over the airstrip to smooth it out and hopefully make it safer for the emergency landing. The pilot managed to land the aircraft without further damage.

The pilot probably encountered low windshear.