Bird Strikes and Aviation

 

When people think about the environmental impacts on aircraft, they don’t necessarily think about bird strikes. People most often think about weather and the impacts climate change have on travel. Before becoming a pilot, I didn’t give birds hitting planes much thought at all.

According to Fort Worth Star-Telegram, $900 million dollars of damage to civil aviation aircraft was estimated between 1990-2019. There are actually many that go unreported. I’m sure we’re all aware of the Miracle on the Hudson. A US Airways A320 hit a flock of geese, lost both engines and landed in the river. More recently there was a Navy jet that went down due to a bird strike. The impact that a bird strike can have on an aircraft can cause damages but usually doesn’t cause loss of life. It becomes most dangerous when the bird hits the engine stopping it from functioning or the windshield because a crack could cause a loss in air pressure.  

I have actually had a few close calls with birds when flying. The first time it happened I was coming in on final at the Niagara Falls Airport and a massive hawk flew 200 ft in front of me. It was a very close call, and if I’m being honest, it rattled me a bit. Hitting a hawk in a Cessna 172 would not have a great outcome. In the moment, I was immediately concerned with other planes in the area. As a courtesy to the other pilots flying, I decided to report the incident to ATC. It’s critical as a pilot to listen to ATIS before flying to see if there are birds in the vicinity of the airport.

Cardona, M. (2022, September 14). Bird that downed Navy jet in Lake Worth last year is one of thousands of annual incidents. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Retrieved from https://www.star-telegram.com/news/environment/article265772716.html#storylink=cpy

Kumar, S. (2022, October 10). What are bird strikes and their impact on aviation industry? Entertales. Retrieved from https://www.entertales.com/bird-strikes-impact-aviation-industry/