This Is What It Looks Like After A 747 Smashes Into A Bird In Mid-Air

Aviation photographer David Davis took this picture of a Cathay Pacific 747 after the plane experienced what pilots might describe as a "bird strike."

Sometimes, as with the US Airways plane that was forced to land on the Hudson several years ago after a flock Canadian geese flew into its engines, these strikes can cause catastrophic damage to the aircraft.

In other cases, the damage is less severe - except to the bird(s).

This 747 apparently hit a bird squarely on its nose cone. The plane survived. The bird presumably didn't. But it made quite a dent!

For more of David Davis's aviation photography, please visit his Flickr photostream.