Early reports suggest that a bird strike caused a jet plane to crash in the Hudson River near Manhattan today, leaving questions about how a little flying animal could down a big airliner.
More than 200 people have been killed worldwide as a result of wildlife strikes with aircraft since 1988, according to Bird Strike Committee USA, and more than 5,000 bird strikes were reported by the U.S. Air Force in 2007. Bird strikes, or the collision of an aircraft with an airborne bird, tend to happen when aircraft are close to the ground, which means just before landing or after take-off, when jet engines are turning at top speeds.
The incidents are serious particularly when the birds, usually gulls, raptors and geese, are sucked into a jet engine and strike an engine fan blades. That impact displaces the blade such that it strikes another blade and a cascade can occur, resulting in engine failure. Geese or another large bird would be much more hazardous than a little black bird. If the birds get close to the engine's intake, the birds get sucked in, its like a vacuum. The jet engine are made up of a lot of compressor blades it can easily damaged, even if only one breaks off, then the one blade will go through the rest of the engine as the engines turning faster its like a sharpnels inside the engine.
A 12-pound goose striking an aircraft going 150 mph at lift-off generates the force of a 1,000-pound weight dropped from a height of 10 feet, according to Bird Strike Committee USA. Birds can be very dangerous to aircraft, particularly in the first several thousand feet after take-off, where the birds are flying.
Large aircraft are certified to be able to keep flying after impacting a 4-pound bird, however if there are more that one 4-pound birds, even smaller birds, can cause engine failure.
The greater the difference in the speed of the plane and the bird, the greater the force of the impact on the aircraft. The weight of the bird is also a factor, but the speed difference is a much bigger factor.
The speed at which the two are moving causes the bird to get ingested into the engine. And the engine is very delicate to withstanding a major impact and shut the engine down.
Flocks of birds are even more dangerous as they can result in multiple strikes.
Delicate birds, delicate aircraft
More than 200 people have been killed worldwide as a result of wildlife strikes with aircraft since 1988, according to Bird Strike Committee USA, and more than 5,000 bird strikes were reported by the U.S. Air Force in 2007. Bird strikes, or the collision of an aircraft with an airborne bird, tend to happen when aircraft are close to the ground, which means just before landing or after take-off, when jet engines are turning at top speeds.
The incidents are serious particularly when the birds, usually gulls, raptors and geese, are sucked into a jet engine and strike an engine fan blades. That impact displaces the blade such that it strikes another blade and a cascade can occur, resulting in engine failure. Geese or another large bird would be much more hazardous than a little black bird. If the birds get close to the engine's intake, the birds get sucked in, its like a vacuum. The jet engine are made up of a lot of compressor blades it can easily damaged, even if only one breaks off, then the one blade will go through the rest of the engine as the engines turning faster its like a sharpnels inside the engine.
A 12-pound goose striking an aircraft going 150 mph at lift-off generates the force of a 1,000-pound weight dropped from a height of 10 feet, according to Bird Strike Committee USA. Birds can be very dangerous to aircraft, particularly in the first several thousand feet after take-off, where the birds are flying.
Large aircraft are certified to be able to keep flying after impacting a 4-pound bird, however if there are more that one 4-pound birds, even smaller birds, can cause engine failure.
The greater the difference in the speed of the plane and the bird, the greater the force of the impact on the aircraft. The weight of the bird is also a factor, but the speed difference is a much bigger factor.
The speed at which the two are moving causes the bird to get ingested into the engine. And the engine is very delicate to withstanding a major impact and shut the engine down.
Flocks of birds are even more dangerous as they can result in multiple strikes.
Delicate birds, delicate aircraft
Take several precautions to keep Airplane safe from birds. Don't plant trees in the nearby, these are their nesting place. no lagoon lakes or small body of water in the nearby because these are playgrounds of water birds like geese.
A cannon is also a must, it fire during and after landing to make a noise as a deterent for birds to clear the runway from birds. Also a deterent birds is a help they can keep the birds from nearby.
Bird and any other wildlife strikes to aircraft result in million dollar in damage a year, according to Bird Strike Committee USA. Five jet airliners have had major accidents involving bird strikes since 1975, the committee says. In one case, about three dozen people died. NASA also worries about bird strikes, too.
During the July 2005 launch of Discovery on mission STS-114, a vulture soaring around the launch pad impacted the shuttle's external tank just after liftoff. With a vulture's average weight of 3 to 5 pounds, it strike on a critical point on the shuttle - like the nose or wing leading thermal protection panels damage - could cause catastrophic damage to the vehicle.
NASA put safety measures into place in 2005 to reduce the chances of bird strikes with the shuttle. The NASA wants to avoid bird strikes to the shuttle's fuel tank that could damage the heat shield during launch and landing.
For instance, NASA has a special during launch countdown where they can stop to wait for birds to pass. And during landing, NASA has a sound cannon that they fire to make sure the runway is clear from birds to make sure shuttle isn't damaged during landing.
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