80 cases of birds striking planes in Manitoba since 2006: Transport Canada
Takeoffs, landings are risky times
Birds are most likely to hit aircraft during takeoff or landing, and not at high altitudes, according to the National Research Council's Institute of Aerospace Research. Collisions typically occur less than 1,500 metres above ground and near airports. Because of this risk near airports, planes are mandated not to fly faster than 650 km/h.
But at that speed, even small birds can do plenty of damage, according to Ron Gould, a technical officer at the institute, depending on where it hits.
"If the bird strikes on the windshield, you are going to lose the optics. They are laminated glass windows, and they are going to crack, and that's why there is more than one window and more than one person looking out through the windows," he says.
Engine strikes are more problematic, he says, since a bird that passes through the turbine can get into the engine duct. Aircraft can fly with only one working engine, but in the case of US Airways Flight 1549, where multiple bird strikes apparently disabled both engines, the pilot has few options other than an emergency landing, he says.
Bird strikes, the possible cause of a plane crash in New York's Hudson River on Thursday, are a well-documented hazard for air travel with more than 80 instances recorded in Manitoba over the past three years.
Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard, also known as BASH, is a well-documented problem in Canada. Transport Canada, which keeps a database of any incidents that occur during air travel, reports more than 80 bird strikes in Manitoba skies over the past three years.
Most cases didn't result in major damage or flight diversions. One incident in September 2006, however, forced a flight headed to Calgary from Winnipeg to return to Winnipeg airport shortly after liftoff when the plane crew smelled smoke in the cabin.
After landing, maintenance crews discovered a bird had flown into the engine and been incinerated. The flight was able to take off again a short time later.
The Winnipeg Airports Authority told CBC News it takes bird strikes very serious. Trees and shrubs close to the airport are kept well-groomed so birds aren't attracted to the area to make nests. Tools, including noisemakers, are also used to keep birds away.
Investigators are still trying to determine what happened before the US Airways flight ditched into the river near Manhattan, but initial reports suggest birds — possibly migrating Canada geese — may have flown into the plane's engine.
While the idea that a flock of birds could bring down an airplane may sound unbelievable, the phenomenon is nothing new.
"Bird strikes are not uncommon, and they cost the airline industry millions of dollars a year," said Jon Russell, a commercial pilot and Western region safety co-ordinator for the Air Line Pilots Association was quoted Friday in the Los Angeles Times.