Originally Posted by
meleagertoo
Certainly happy if not visibly damaged, why ever not?
You would have no idea what damage may have occurred to the structure not visible from inside the cockpit. The kinetic energy from even a modest sized bird is enormous at 250 knots. I hit a bird at 250 knots in a USN trainer and the aircraft never flew again. Most of the structural damage was not visible. I had what we considered a minor strike in another aircraft that broke a frame internally. A visual inspection showed nothing until they borescoped inside.