Caught on Camera: Bird Implodes Airplane Windshield on Impact

A Florida man was flying his 1986 Piper Saratoga back to the airport when a bird not only hit his windshield, but imploded the glass on impact -- and cameras were rolling to capture the moment.

Rob Weber was returning to Page Field in Fort Myers, Fla., Saturday when the bird slammed through his windshield as he traveled 170 miles per hour.

“It was a total shock,” Weber told the News-Press. “I have a had a lot of close-call bird strikes, but this was the first hit."

Rob Weber had his camera rolling and captured the moment a bird slammed right through his plane's windshield. (Image source: WCBS-TV)

Though the plane wavered for a moment after the incident, Weber recovered quickly.

“Everything went cattywampus. At first, it kinda knocked it out of me, startled me," he told the newspaper. "The wind got my eyes real bad, and I tried to cup the mic so the controller could hear me."

Image source: WCBS-TV

Image source: WCBS-TV

Though he had a gash on his head and was bleeding, Weber was able to land the plane safely and declined professional medical treatment.

When on the ground, the camera still recording caught Weber giving a a little chuckle.

While that laugh might have been out of his relief to be alive, Weber showed his sense of humor in an interview wearing an Angry Birds T-shirt.

Image source: WCBS-TV

Watch this report, which includes both the footage of the bird strike and Weber's post reaction:

Weber, who is an experienced pilot, told the News-Press Sunday as he inspected the damage of his plane that bird strikes are not uncommon but capturing them on camera is rare.

All he found left of the bird was a leg.