Bird Strike in Aviation

Statistics, Analysis and Management

Ahmed F. El-Sayed

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN:
  9781119529736
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781119529798
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Aeronautic & Astronautic Engineering
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Groundbreaking Handbook Offers Detailed Research and Valuable Methodology to Address Dangerous and Costly Aviation Hazard 

Though annual damages from bird and bat collisions with aircraft have been estimated at $400 million in the United States and up to $1.2 billion in commercial aviation worldwide and despite numerous conferences and councils dedicated to the issue, very little has been published on this expensive and sometimes-lethal flying risk. Bird Strike in Aviation seeks to fill this gap, providing a comprehensive guide to preventing and minimizing damage caused by bird strike on aircraft.

Based on a thorough and comprehensive examination of the subject, Dr. El-Sayed offers different approaches to reducing bird strikes, including detailed coverage of the three categories necessary for such reduction, namely, awareness/education, bird management (active and passive control), and aircraft design. In addition, the text discusses the importance of cooperation between airplanes, airports and air traffic authorities as well as testing methods necessary for certification of both aircraft frame and engine. Other notable features include:

• Statistics and analyses for bird strikes with both civil and military helicopters as well as military fixed wing aircrafts, including annual costs, critical flight altitudes, critical parts of aircraft, distance from air base and specifics of date and timing
• Thorough review and analysis all fatal bird strike accidents and most non-fatal accidents since 1905, the first book to provide such a reference
• The use of numerical methods in analyzing historic data (ex. probability functions, finite element methods for analyzing impact on aircraft structure, experimental measurement technique for displacement, vibration, component distortion, etc.)
• Instruction on identification of bird species (using visual, microscopic, and DNA evidence) and details of bird migration to aid air traffic control in avoiding scenarios likely to result in collision

With its wealth of statistical data, innovative research, and practical suggestions, Bird Strike in Aviation will prove a vital resource for researchers, engineers and graduate students in aerospace engineering/manufacturing or ornithology, as well as for military and civilian pilots and flight crew or professionals in aviation authorities and air traffic control.

1
Introduction

Chapter Menu

1. 1.1 Introduction
2. 1.2 Bird Strike: Foreign Object Damage (FOD)
3. 1.3 A Brief History of Bird Strike
4. 1.4 Brief Statistics of Bird Strike
5. 1.5 Classification of Birds Based on Size
6. 1.5.1 Small Birds (Less than 2 lb)
7. 1.5.2 Small–Medium Birds (2–4 lb)
8. 1.5.3 Medium–Large Birds (4–8 lb)
9. 1.5.4 Large Birds (8–12 lb)
10. 1.5.5 Massive Birds (12–30 lb)
11. 1.6 Bird Strike Risk
12. 1.6.1 Civilian Aircraft
13. 1.6.2 Military Aircraft
14. 1.6.3 Helicopters
15. 1.7 Severity of Bird Strikes
16. 1.8 Field Experience of Aircraft Industry and Airlines Regarding Bird Ingestion into Aero Engines
17. 1.8.1 Pratt & Whitney (USA)
18. 1.8.2 General Electric Aviation (USA)
19. 1.8.3 Southwest Airlines (USA)
20. 1.8.4 MTU (Germany)
21. 1.8.5 FL Technics (Vilnius, Lithuania)
22. 1.9 Bird Strike Committees
23. References

1.1 Introduction

Flight has been the dream of mankind as we watch birds soar effortlessly through the sky. Humans have been inspired by the ability of birds to fly and have tried to imitate it. Birds first took to the air about 150 million years ago, while humans first began to share their airspace only in 1903. Unfortunately, when aircraft and birds attempt to use the same airspace at the same time, collisions occur.

So, let us first define the term “bird strike”. A bird strike is defined as a collision between a fixed‐ or rotary‐wing aircraft during different flight phases and an airborne avian creature (usually a bird or a bat) or a group (a flock) of such avian creatures, resulting in the death or injury to the bird, damage to the aircraft, or both.

As defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), near‐collisions with birds reported by pilots also are considered strikes.

“Birdstrike” (as one word) and “bird hit” are alternatives for the term “bird strike.” Bird strike with the aircraft's engine is normally denoted as “bird ingestion.”

The hazard associated with bird strike is identified as bird aircraft strike hazard (or BASH). BASH also stands for “birds/wildlife aircraft strike hazard.”

Based on the Bird Strike Committee Canada, a bird strike is deemed to have occurred whenever:

• a pilot reports a bird strike;
• aircraft maintenance staff identify damage to any module of aircraft caused by a bird strike;
• ground personnel report seeing an aircraft strike one or more birds;
• bird remains are found on an airside area or within 200 ft of a runway (unless bird's death is due to other reasons).

A possible collision between an aircraft and a flock of birds is illustrated in Figure 1.1. Ground movements of birds may also pose a threat to aircraft, as illustrated in Figure 1.2.

Figure 1.1 Birds threatening a flying aircraft [27].

Source: An Airbus A330 of China Eastern behind a flock of birds at London Heathrow by NMOS332, B‐6543 is Licensed under CC BY‐SA 2.0.

Figure 1.2 Birds threatening aircraft on ground movements.

Source: Courtesy USDA‐APHIS [23].

Birds may also collide with missiles during the flight of the missile. Figure 1.3 illustrates a flock of birds (possibly cormorants) surrounding the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2002.

Figure 1.3 Birds are surrounding Space Shuttle Atlantis in 2002.

Source: Courtesy NASA.

On 26 July 2005, the Space Shuttle Discovery hit a turkey vulture [1] during liftoff (Figure 1.4).

Figure 1.4 A turkey vulture flew right into Space Shuttle Discovery.

Source: Courtesy NASA.

Bird strike leads to the death of bird(s). For the flying vehicle, the aircraft or rocket may experience either a minor or major damage of its airframe and/or engines or may have catastrophic destruction with the loss of some/all passenger lives. Complete destruction of aircraft is mostly caused by significant bird ingestion into engines [2].

1.2 Bird Strike: Foreign Object Damage (FOD)

The term “Bird Strike” is usually expanded to include other wildlife species, including terrestrial mammals. Bird strikes cause the greatest amount of FOD (or Foreign Object Damage) of aircraft. (Note that FOD is also the abbreviation for “Foreign Object Debris.”) FOD (Figure 1.5) covers both animate and inanimate sources. “Animates” include wildlife, grass, and humans...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Aircraft Damage
• 3 Statistics for Different Aspects of Bird Strikes
• 4 Fatal Bird Strike Accidents
• 5 Bird Migration
• 6 Bird Strike Management
• 7 Airframe and Engine Bird Strike Testing
• 8 Numerical Simulation of Bird Strike
• 9 Bird Identification
• Index
• End User License Agreement