It was higher than any bird reasonably found in that area normally flies. The plane was over twice the altitude that any bird there should be able to reach on its own. The birds that normally can fly higher than that are as far as I know not found in North America.
However, that area does get thunderstorms that can catch birds and tremendously boost their altitudes to 45-60k feet. The bird would almost certainly die on the way up and maybe also freeze, but that might make it more dangerous if it hits a plane on the way back down.
I don't know if there were any storms that day close enough to make such a strike possible in this case.
However, that area does get thunderstorms that can catch birds and tremendously boost their altitudes to 45-60k feet. The bird would almost certainly die on the way up and maybe also freeze, but that might make it more dangerous if it hits a plane on the way back down.
I don't know if there were any storms that day close enough to make such a strike possible in this case.