Birds and Airplanes: The Consequences of Collision

Imagine this – you've just spent a whole week soaking up the sights and sounds of the city that never sleeps. You visited Times Square, took a stroll through Central Park, and even saw the Statue of Liberty up close. But now, it's time to head back home. The weather has been dreadful all day, and it's been a bone-chilling nineteen degrees outside. You arrive at the airport a half-hour before your flight, only to find out it's been delayed. Typical, you think to yourself. The airport is packed with frustrated travelers. People argue on the phone and wear discontent on their faces. Finally, it's time to board the plane, and it's completely full. You're stuck in an uncomfortable middle seat. The man next to you emits an unpleasant odor, and there's a crying baby behind you. You steel yourself for the two-hour journey ahead. Trying to tune out the wailing, you pop in your earphones. You even cover them with your hair, hoping to avoid the safety briefing. Everyone's heard it countless times, and they know flying is safer than driving anyway. Ready for some peace, you pray for a nap. You gazed out the window, watching the stunning view of New York City. Music filled your ears, and you felt yourself drift towards sleep. As the plane climbed higher, the skyscrapers became smaller and the Hudson River looked like a little thread. Even a flock of geese flew by. You thought it was strange that you could see birds from such an altitude. Suddenly, smoke and flames erupted from the engine, followed by a loud explosion. The whole plane shook as if it were to fall apart. You had no idea what was happening, but something terrible must have happened to the engine. It couldn't have been the birds, could it? Shockingly, it happened to the passengers of US Airways Flight 1549 in January 2009. Just ninety seconds after takeoff from New York's LaGuardia Airport, the plane encountered a flock of Canada geese. The birds were sucked into the engine, causing what's known as a bird strike.

Once upon a time, birds and planes didn't mix. You see, a bird can accidentally hit the forward-facing edges of an aircraft, like the wings or nose cone. But the engine is the most common culprit. Poor birdie. Once it hits the engine, it's sucked in and swallowed by the machine. Not a pretty sight. As a passenger, you're unlikely to see what's happening. Even from a window seat near the engine, it's just a blur. Most of the time, nothing much happens. But in extreme cases, like a certain US Airways flight, flames, smoke, and blackness can come from the window. This happens during a compressor stall when the engine can't keep itself cool, leading to a lack of engine thrust and vibrations. Worst of all, the engine could stop working altogether. It's a true bird vs. plane saga. Big birds can cause compressor stall and damage the fan blades in a plane's engine. Bird strikes are the biggest threat to planes worldwide. Suddenly, flames and smoke surround the engine and the plane starts to shake violently with loud bangs. But you're still here and the plane is still moving. Maybe just one engine failed? Then everything goes deathly silent. What's happening? The passengers were quiet, looking for direction from the flight attendants. Suddenly, the realization hit that the plane was descending towards the Hudson River. The captain's urgent warning to "Brace for impact!" echoed through the cabin. Most planes can fly on one engine, but Flight 1549 was hit by a flock of Canadian geese, taking out all engines. Bird strikes usually don't cause much damage, but these were big birds. In just ninety seconds after takeoff, the plane was hurtling towards the water. Birds flying low present a risk of collision with planes, especially during take-off and landing. Most bird strikes happen below 150 meters and during the day. But it's rare for birds being ingested by a plane to cause every engine to stop. As the warnings flash to brace for impact, you clutch the chair, wishing you'd listened closer to the announcements. The airplane bounces and crashes into the water, tearing it apart, causing a huge shudder. Darkness surrounds you, and you feel the freezing water against your feet and legs. You're on a plane that's plunging into the water, and you're terrified. You try to escape through the back exit, but an attendant tells you to go forward. Everyone is rushing to get out, and the water is rising fast. When you finally reach the door, you see people sitting on the wings. You join them, then jump into a life raft. Some people are crying, but relief sets in when you spot safety boats coming. Amazingly, everyone survives. Flight 1549 becomes known as the 'Hudson miracle'. It was all thanks to the pilot, Chesley Sullenberger, that the passengers of flight 1549 survived. Sully was faced with a tough decision after bird strikes took out both engines of the plane. He could turn back to LaGuardia, try for New Jersey, or make an emergency landing in the river. Instead of following protocol and turning around, Sully banked left over the George Washington Bridge and headed for the river. Remarkably, he managed to land the plane on the river like it was a runway. How did he do it? As long as the wings are intact, the plane can still be flown. The real challenge was landing perfectly, just like in a normal landing. And that's exactly what Sully did. History was made that day, thanks to the heroic actions of one skilled pilot.The plane landed, and thanks to the jet fuel, it didn't sink immediately. It was a wonder of communication, as the pilots did their duty to let air traffic control know what was happening. With that call, first responders were able to arrive quickly, saving lives. The flight attendants also played a vital role, making sure everyone followed safety procedures and kept the back door shut. Without their efforts, the situation could have been much different. Should we worry about bird strike? The answer is both yes and no, but in this case, communication and teamwork saved the day.

The outcome of bird engine ingestion is highly dependent on the circumstances of the flight.

In 2007, a flight from Manchester to Lanzarote suffered engine failure when a bird was ingested and caught fire, but it returned safely. On the other hand, an Ethiopian Airlines flight in 1988 sucked in numerous pigeons in take-off and ended up crashing and killing 35 passengers. The greatest loss of life happened in 1960 on a flight from Boston, when a flock of starlings damaged all four engines and the aircraft crashed, killing 62 passengers. These are somewhat extreme cases, but the phenomenon is more common than you might think. According to Transport Canada, the bird strikes cost more than $500 million a year in North America alone, although not all of these cases involve engine ingestion.

But just because they’re frequent, doesn’t make them dangerous. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there have only been 25 human fatalities caused by wildlife strikes with US aircraft.

The birds, on the other hand, didn’t fare so well. Is there anything we can do to prevent bird strike?

Not completely, but we can certainly reduce the chances. An important aspect of this is testing whether planes are airworthy and able to withstand unexpected collisions – certification criteria require that large engines should be able to endure the impact of a bird over 3.5kg without serious damage. Bizarrely, this is often tested by firing fake birds at airplane engines. It might sound brutal, but it’s an important part of air safety. It’s even better to avoid these kinds of collisions altogether.

Some airports now have radar-based equipment on the ground to detect birds, and they may even broadcast the sound of predatory birds or produce loud bangs and flashes of light

to keep them away. Mechanical falcons, trained falcons, and drones have all been used too. Kind of like high-tech scarecrows. Unfortunately, birds always seem to adapt to a new environment and stop being scared by all the deterrents put in place. And airports are like a bird’s paradise. Free food and a large, empty area with a green space nearby? If you’re a Canadian goose, it doesn’t get much better than that. The only way to stop birds being ingested by engines completely would be to get rid of them altogether, but animal rights activists might have something to say about that. In fact, in the aftermath of the Hudson miracle, airports in New York started culling geese.

Even two snowy owls were shot out of fear they’d fly into an aircraft. Naturally, this caused some controversy and is no longer considered best practice. Whatever we do, there’s no way of getting away from freak accidents completely. As long as there are flying creatures roaming the skies, they might have undesirable collisions with our flying machines. So, you don’t need to cancel your next flight due to fear of bird ingestion, but you might want to pay attention to the safety announcement just in case.