Severe collisions between planes and birds have increased substantially, posing an increasing air safety hazard.
As USA Today reports, the number of such collisions was 40 percent higher in 2009 than the average total over the nine previous years, according to federal data. The figures for all of 2010 data have not been released but, as of November, the bird strikes were running about the same as the 2009 level.
The most famous case is the so-called Miracle on the Hudson, when an encounter with a flock of geese forced an emergency landing on the Hudson River, after which all of the passengers were saved. But other, less publicized incidents also have placed air travelers’ lives in danger.
For instance, after a Continental Express flight to Salt Like City crashed into a white pelican last August, the pilots’ instrument panel went dead. In November, a collision with a bird caused a footlong tear in the wing of a Horizon Air prop plane. Although both incidents occurred at altitudes in excess of 6,000 feet, the planes landed safely.
Aviation experts say that authorities need to take a closer look at the potential hazards. “This really is an area that needs more attention,” Russ DeFusco, a consultant who used to lead an Air Force program to avoid collisions with birds, told USA Today. “There have been way too many close calls.”
Part of the problem is that while airports employ a number of devices to ensure that runways are clear of pigeons and the like, once planes get into the air, there’s no such help in the skies. However, the Federal Aviation Administration is considering various measures, such as making planes more resistant to bird collisions and requiring devices that scare birds away.
