Air China plane collides with unknown object at 8,000 metres

[Serpo]

Air China plane collides with unknown object at 8,000 metres (probably Superman)
http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/jamesgriffiths/air-china-dent.png
It's unclear what struck this Air China plane while it was flying at 8,000 metres (26,000 feet), causing it to return to Chengdu, but we can speculate that it was Superman. It was probably Superman.
http://shanghaiist.com/attachments/jamesgriffiths/air-china-dent-2.jpg
[Image credit: Weibo // Via: China Nevis (http://www.chinanavis.com/an-air-china-plane-was-hit-by-unknown-object-and-forced-to-return-154953)]

http://shanghaiist.com/2013/06/05/air_china_plane_collides_with_unknown_object_at_26 000_feet_dents_nose.php

[Libertarian_Guard]

Looks to me like it happened on the ground.

[palani]

Reward Offered --- U.S. missing one drone. Big money reward for safe return. Call 1-800-WARLORD

[drafter]

Looks to me like it happened on the ground.

Yes I was wondering the same thing looking at the way those paint flakes are still attached.

[Ponce]

Little kid to his dad...."Dad, dad? why is that little plane parked in our back yard?"

V

[Spectrism]

That nose cone is the radar dome. Radar would be easy to target. I wonder if something hit that was supposed to blow and instead failed to detonate, glancing off to the side. Who was on the plane?

[Serpo]

http://www.jacdec.de/news/news.htm

[gunDriller]

600 mph @ 25,000 feet.

not an easy target.

[Libertarian_Guard]

At airspeed, that much area (even a lot less) would have punctured clean through. The repair, instead of just a radome change would have been a bulkhead repair along with radar and waveguide change.

[midnight rambler]

600 mph @ 25,000 feet.

not an easy target.

Hitting a wad of styrofoam at that speed would have done more damage, imo.

[Publico]

Where's the dash cam video?

[Shami-Amourae]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y8FfI6CZRk4/UCwhrbx02tI/AAAAAAAAAM0/azRGK_1F4FA/s1600/god-monty-python-380132_800_441.jpeg

StreetsOfGold won't happy...

[Serpo]

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y8FfI6CZRk4/UCwhrbx02tI/AAAAAAAAAM0/azRGK_1F4FA/s1600/god-monty-python-380132_800_441.jpeg

StreetsOfGold won't happy...

Its only a flesh wound........

[Cebu_4_2]

Black Box Biatch!

[Agrippa]

It would have to be something soft to glance off like that. Chengdu is near the Himalayas, and I believe that geese have been observed crossing those mountains at such altitudes.

[gunDriller]

maybe that's the airplane's belly button, and it has an "Innie". :)

[madfranks]

Hitting a wad of styrofoam at that speed would have done more damage, imo.

What do you think it might have been?

[JohnQPublic]

What do you think it might have been?

Maybe the radome structure buckled under aerodynamic load. If it were composite and already had a delamination or other defect, it could have just caved in due to kinetic pressure.