A small, single-engine general aviation airplane that originally was suspected to have collided with a drone while the airplane was on final approach to an airport in Adelaide, South Australia, actually struck a large bat known as a grey-headed flying fox, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said Friday. The investigation into the incident has been discontinued, ATSB said.
The incident occurred July 11 when a Socata TB-10 Tobago, on a scheduled night flying lesson, was about 500 ft above ground level and on final approach to Parafield Airport. The instructor told ATSB he heard a loud thud and the right wing suddenly dropped. He initially told the control tower he might have hit a bird. After landing and not seeing any signs of biological matter, the instructor contacted the tower again and reported the incident as a possible drone strike, ATS…
