20140925017349I

The taxi out and take off from Kenai Municipal Airport was standard. At 1300' and approx. 5 miles north of Kenai Municipal Airport and 1 second to impact the pilot saw an eagle in front of the aircraft and then the impact happened. The bird hit the nose wheel; a very good jarring action was felt throughout the plane. The engine continued running and all engine gauges indicated normal readings but the plane had a very distinctive right yaw. The ?right fuel low" light then came on. Both fuel gauges indicated 400LBS. The pilot fought the right yaw and immediately began a turn to the left for Kenai airport. The pilot briefed the passengers telling them they were returning to the Kenai airport for an emergency landing and to put all things away and secure their seatbelts.

The pilot contacted the tower and declared an emergency, requesting fire, crash and rescue and that he had 10 souls on board with 800 lbs. Of jet in the aircraft and that they would need runway 19R.

The controller cleared them to land and stated emergency units were notified and rolling. The pilot made a call to his company and stated they were making an emergency landing due to a bird strike.

The pilot re-briefed the passengers and asked the gentleman in seat 2 if the main landing gear wheel looked normal on his side, which the passenger replied yes.

The aircrafts main landing gear wheel also appeared normal so the pilot figured the yaw and damage was to the nose wheel where the bird strike happened.

During the landing the pilot carried a bit more speed on final as the plane handled better. As he crossed the threshold, the pilot applied the flaps to 30 degrees and started the flare.

The pilot held the nose wheel off the runway as long as he could. At one point in the landing, the pilot realized the nose wheel should have been on the runway, so he cut the fuel to off and feathered the propeller. The nose came down and the plane had a slight shift left and right and he applied braking to keep the forward direction and had enough speed to clear the runway onto "e" taxiway. Exiting the runway there was another loud bang and then the ability to steer using the rudders stopped, the pilot then applied the brakes and stopped the plane.

The pilot briefed the passengers there's no fear of fire and they should stay seated, remain calm. He radioed the tower telling them they had shut the engine down and needed to inspect the nose wheel as he had lost steering. The fire trucks were already there and the pilot was met by a fireman, who said they saw no smoke, or flame but that the nose spring bar was disconnected.