The infamous bird strike: when an unlucky feathered friend finds their way into the propeller of an aircraft, or simply just hits an aircraft head-on. We’ve heard lots about these happening, but how dangerous can they actually be?
What are bird strikes?
According to the ICAO, a bird strike is defined as a collision between a bird and an aircraft. This can also be extended to cover other wildlife strikes such as with bats or wild animals. The most common impact areas on the aircraft are the nose, the engine and the wing rotors. Surprisingly, bird strikes are extremely common, with 273,000 bird strikes reported in the five years between 2016 and 2021. An average of 150 bird strikes are reported daily across the globe.
Bird strikes can occur at any stage of a flight, but most commonly occur closer to the ground when taking off or landing. This is due to the higher number of birds flying at lower levels.
The Dangers
Bird strikes, though an everyday occurrence, can pose a significant risk. Flocks of birds are the most dangerous, as the more individuals collide at once, the more likely there is to be serious damage to the aircraft. Bird strikes not only result in financial implications but can also contribute to loss of control during flights, leading to severe and undesirable outcomes. However, loss of control due to a bird strike is very rare. Even though there have been fatal incidents due to bird strikes in the past, in 2023, there were no fatalities reported. The danger is increased the smaller the aircraft when the ingestion of birds into the engines via the rotors leads to a loss of thrust.
Moreover, bird strikes are on the rise. In the first quarter of 2021, bird strikes increased by 205% compared to the same quarter in 2020. This was partially due to the gradual end of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also a consequence of ever-increasing demand prompting higher numbers of flights.
US Airways Flight 1549
Perhaps the most famous bird strike is US Airways Flight 1549, which ended up performing an emergency landing on the Hudson River on the 15th of January, 2009. The Charlotte-bound aircraft encountered a large flock of Canada geese at an altitude of 2800 feet, prompting both engines to shut down. The heroic pilot, Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger then safely landed the aircraft in New York’s Hudson River. There were no fatalities, and this incident was named the most “successful ditching in aviation history”. This is a bird strike that could have potentially been fatal, but with the quick thinking of the pilots, a disaster was avoided. There have been other bird strikes reported, mostly prompting emergency landings but resulting in few fatalities.
Countermeasures and Mitigation Strategies
As much as bird strikes pose a danger to human health, the aviation industry is also affected by these incidents. Bird strikes can cost airlines as much as $1.36bn a year worldwide due to aircraft repairs, delays and other expenses. Therefore, it is paramount for the aviation industry to focus on ways to reduce the frequency of bird strikes.
To reduce the amount of bird strikes, the aviation industry has started to formulate strategies to reduce harm to humans and birds and also damage to aircraft. Some examples of mitigation include having a minimum flight altitude of 2000 feet when crossing nature reserves and areas with known large bird populations. Others include fortifying aircraft components which are most likely to be hit in a bird strike.
Bird strikes are an ongoing topic of discussion within the aviation industry. New technologies and perspectives continue to shed light on what could be done in the future to ensure an incident such as the US Airways flight 1549 never happens again.
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