Left side broken by object

UFO (Unidentified FALLING Object)

April 12 - Having flown in all kinds of conditions since the early 60’s, Ken Pearson experienced a most unusual occurrence in February of this year, somewhere over Texas.  This event will certainly not be repeated often.   

It was 7:30 in the morning; Pearson was flying a Cessna 421 for Koontz Electric Company, his employer.  There was one passenger on board.  Level at 15,000 feet msl, on an IFR flight plan, but not in IFR conditions and Unidentified Falling Object came out of the sky and hit the left windscreen.  The impact at two-hundred twenty knots shattered, but did not penetrate the integrity of the glass.  If it had, this story would be in the NTSB accident reports. 

“I advised Houston Center of the impact, not declaring an emergency at that time.  As long as the windscreen maintained its integrity, we would be ok.  There was no guarantee that it would hold.  My decision to reduce speed to one hundred knots was an attempt to keep the glass in tack.  The quick look I got at the object made it appear as if it was a yellowish gray cube like metallic color.  It appeared to be from four to six inches in diameter.  Where it came from, I do not know.   Center was not handling any other craft in my area at the time.  It could have come from space for all I know,” Pearson said.   

Being hit with space junk, parts from an airplane, ice from a distant storm all have been taken into consideration.  The storm was a good twenty-five miles distant.  There was only one item that came toward the plane and it appeared metallic, not like an ice ball.  “The item came out of a clear sky and moved toward the plane like a curve ball being thrown.  One would think this item would have had a straight path as it approached the plane, it didn’t,” Pearson said emphatically 

“Upon arrival to our destination, we found the ceiling was four-hundred feet.  My decision was to get vectors to Gulf Port, Mississippi.  At that location, I was furnished with a surveillance approach.  The landing was uneventful.  I did have to lean over to the right to see out of that window to find the runway,” stated Pearson.   

Pearson has had one previous gear up landing due to gear malfunction, an exhaust fire on one engine, and now this hit from the Unidentified Falling Object.  He feels pretty secure… even a cat has nine lives.