Bird hazard or bird collision

Animal peril, bird hazard or bird collision: whatever the name, some 800 bird collisions with aircraft are recorded every year in civil aviation. This "threat" is taken very seriously by the aviation authorities and aircraft manufacturers. Fortunately, accidents are extremely rare (and very well documented, like the crash of US Airways flight 1549 which inspired the film "Sully").

All you need to know about the bird hazard

Where do these collisions take place?

Most birds live very close to the ground, between 0 and 1000 m. As a result, the risk of bird collisions for aircraft is concentrated during the take-off and landing phases.

Which parts of the aircraft are most "sensitive" to bird risk?

The impact can happen anywhere on the aircraft. It can damage the body of the aircraft without breaking a wing or anything else. It's more like a simple "blow" to the bodywork of a car: it doesn't prevent you from driving in complete safety. The most vulnerable parts are the windscreen and the engines. A cracked windscreen can seriously hamper drivers. The same goes for a damaged engine.  

How aviation safety is responding to the avian risk

What measures have aircraft manufacturers taken in response to bird flu?

First of all, the engines are tested on test benches (video that you can see on our courses). A cannon shoots chickens at 700 km/h onto the engines to test their resistance. Mind you, no real chickens are thrown! They are replaced by blocks of gelatin of equivalent density. Secondly, they have considerably increased the strength of the windscreens. The windscreens are heated throughout the flight. Hot" glass is more resistant to impact.

What measures have the authorities taken?

A number of measures have been taken to keep birds away from airports and reduce the risk of bird strikes. There are devices that emit audible alarms or crackling rockets to scare birds away. Some airports, such as Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Marseille-Marignane, employ falconers to scare the birds away.

What do pilots do in the event of a collision?

As soon as we know there has been an impact, we have to return to land as a precaution! However, depending on the point of impact and the size of the aircraft, we sometimes only realise that there has been a collision when we land (just imagine an Airbus A380 facing a small sparrow!!!).

Conclusion

Yes, a bird collision is a threat, but it very rarely leads to an accident. At most, these bird encounters can result in a flight delay, which happens in around 15% of collisions.