This article is about bird collisions with aircraft or other vehicles. For bird collisions with buildings, see Bird–skyscraper collisions and Towerkill.
Not to be confused with shrike.
Canopy of an F-16 after a bird strikeMercedes-Benz 300SL sports car following the impact of a vulture to the windscreen at the 1952 Carrera Panamericana
A bird strike (sometimes called birdstrike, bird ingestion (for an engine), bird hit, or bird aircraft strike hazard (BASH)) is a collision between an airborne animal (usually a bird or bat)[1] and a moving vehicle (usually an aircraft). The term is also used for bird deaths resulting from collisions with structures, such as power lines, towers and wind turbines (see bird–skyscraper collisions and towerkill).[2]
A significant threat to flight safety, bird strikes have caused a number of accidents with human casualties.[3] There are over 13,000 bird strikes annually in the US alone.[4] However, the number of major accidents involving civil aircraft is quite low and it has been estimated that there is only about one accident resulting in human death in one billion (109) flying hours.[5] The majority of bird strikes (65%) cause little damage to the aircraft;[6] however, the collision is usually fatal to the bird(s) involved.
Vultures and geese have been ranked the second and third most hazardous kinds of wildlife to aircraft in the United States, after deer,[7] with approximately 240 goose–aircraft collisions in the United States each year. 80% of all bird strikes go unreported.[8]
Most accidents occur when a bird (or group of birds) collides with the windscreen or is sucked into the engine of jet aircraft. These cause annual damages that have been estimated at $400 million[3] within the United States alone and up to $1.2 billion to commercial aircraft worldwide.[9] In addition to property damage, collisions between man-made structures and conveyances and birds is a contributing factor, among many others, to the worldwide decline of many avian species.[10]
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) received 65,139 bird strike reports for 2011–14, and the Federal Aviation Administration counted 177,269 wildlife strike reports on civil aircraft between 1990 and 2015, growing 38% in seven years from 2009 to 2015. Birds accounted for 97%.[11]
^Gard, Katie; Groszos, Mark S.; Brevik, Eric C.; Lee, Gregory W. (2007). "Spatial analysis of Bird–Aircraft Strike Hazard for Moody Air Force Base aircraft in the state of Georgia.(Report)" (PDF). Georgia Journal of Science. 65 (4): 161–169. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-01-07.
^Manville A.M., II. (2005). "Bird strikes and electrocutions at power lines, communication lowers, and wind turbines: state of the art and slate of the science—next steps toward mitigation.". In C.J. Ralph; T. D. Rich (eds.). Bird Conservation Implementation in the Americas: Proceedings 3rd International Partners in Flight Conference 2002. U.S.D.A. Forest Service. GTR-PSW-191, Albany. CA.
^ abSodhi, Navjot S. (2002). "Competition in the air: birds versus aircraft". The Auk. 119 (3): 587–595. doi:10.1642/0004-8038(2002)119[0587:CITABV]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 31967680.
^Richard Dolbeer; et al. (November 2016). Wildlife Strikes to Civil Aircraft in the United States, 1990-2015(PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. p. xii. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
^Thorpe, John (2003). "Fatalities and destroyed civil aircraft due to bird strikes, 1912–2002" (PDF). International Bird Strike Committee, IBSC 26 Warsaw. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
^Milson, T.P. & N. Horton (1995). Birdstrike. An assessment of the hazard on UK civil aerodromes 1976–1990. Central Science Laboratory, Sand Hutton, York, UK.
^Dolbeer, Richard A.; Wright, Sandra E.; Cleary, Edward C. (2000). "Ranking the Hazard Level of Wildlife Species to Aviation". Wildlife Society Bulletin. 28 (2): 372–378. JSTOR 3783694. Retrieved 2022-01-16.
^Cleary, Edward; Dolbeer, Richard (July 2005). "Wildlife Hazard Management at Airports: A Manual for Airport Personnel". USDA National Wildlife Research Center – Staff Publications. 133: 9. Retrieved 19 August 2019.
^Cite error: The named reference allan was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Threats To Birds: Collisions". August 22, 2019.
^"How Bird Strikes Impact Engines". Aviation Week. October 7, 2016.
A birdstrike (sometimes called birdstrike, bird ingestion (for an engine), bird hit, or bird aircraft strike hazard (BASH)) is a collision between an...
Investigators later focused on the birdstrike theory. Investigators later stated that the impact of the birdstrike might have caused the pilot to become...
enemy ground position Birdstrike, collision between an airborne animal and a man-made vehicle, especially aircraft Bridge strike, collision of an over-height...
nearby boats, with no deaths and few serious injuries. The time from the birdstrike to the ditching was less than four minutes. The Governor of New York...
Migratory Bird Management". fws.gov. Pynn, Larry (April 5, 2014). "Birdstrikes plummet at Vancouver airport". Vancouver Sun. "Wild birds and the law"...
flight carried 226 passengers and seven crew. The flight suffered a birdstrike after taking off from Zhukovsky and crash landed in a cornfield, 5 kilometres...
following bird ingestion and birdstrikes breaking cockpit windshields. Jet engines have to be designed to withstand the ingestion of birds of a specified...
This is a list of birds by flight height. Birds portal Organisms at high altitude List of birds by flight speed Laybourne, Roxie C. (December 1974). "Collision...
plane, landing on the Hudson River after both engines were disabled by a birdstrike. All 155 people aboard survived. After the Hudson landing, Sullenberger...
year-long investigation, it was concluded that an engine stall, caused by a birdstrike was responsible for the crash. Both of the occupants attempted to eject...
for instance, may strike with the bony spurs and bite when defending eggs or young. Feathers are a feature characteristic of birds (though also present...
not cause significant damage to the rest of the aircraft. Thus, if the birdstrike causes it to "throw a blade" (break apart in a way where parts fly off...
claimed to be the largest commercial airliner ever destroyed due to a birdstrike. The aircraft was a 2-year-old McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30CF registered...
turn around after an engine was damaged by a birdstrike. About 10 minutes into the flight, the birdstrike and subsequent explosion in the engine forced...
high-angle attack portion of his routine, a bird was sucked into the turbofan of his right engine (a birdstrike), causing the engine to burst into flames...
plane after a birdstrike happened to the plane in which he was flying in California. A similar incident in 2020 involving a birdstrike in the engine...
following birdstrike". WRGT. Retrieved May 24, 2023. Grant, Teddy (April 23, 2023). "American Airlines plane returns to Ohio airport after possible bird strike...
problematic birds from airfields to reduce birdstrike risks, minimize agricultural losses due to pest bird foraging, displace nuisance birds that cause...
altitude by 1,000 feet (305 m). Flight deck distraction as the result of a birdstrike or other minor occurrence. After investigating this accident, as well...
taken prisoner. On 17 August 2015, a Moroccan Mirage F1 crashed due to a birdstrike; its pilot ejected successfully. During 1971, South Africa commenced...
other end. The birdstrike also caused the thrust reversers to not engage, thereby not adequately slowing down the aircraft. The birdstrike, the malfunctioning...
survived, with only five serious injuries. The accident was due to a Birdstrike with a flock of Canada geese, which disabled both engines. The entire...
2019. "British newspaper Mirror reports Ethiopian jet crash caused by bird-strike". 4 April 2019. Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved...
B. Pastine International Airport, in Rome, Italy, suffered multiple birdstrikes while landing. Of the 172 people on board, two crew and eight passengers...
of 72 on board were killed in the accident. It remains the deadliest birdstrike in aviation history. N5533 and its crew came into Logan that day as Flight...
Lakshmi. The movie is based on the 1965 Danish movie Operation Love Birds (Strike First Freddy). It was dubbed in Hindi as Miss Chalbaaz (Tingoo Agent...
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