The E-3 crew in Elmendorf was literally screaming "mayday, mayday, mayday" as it sunk into the trees. What good could it possibly do?
Literally? Not according to the transcript of the accident, which is on page 6 of this Flight Safety Foundation report. It's an interesting read. I think it's relevant to this thread because bird strike accidents will be a worsening problem as the geese population continues to explode.
https://www.flightsafety.org/ap/ap_nov96.pdf