Sitting in the jump seat of a corporate Gulfstream G450 on approach to Morristown Municipal Airport’s Runway 5, I saw the tiny starlings a fraction of a second before the copilot called out, matter-of-factly, “Birds.” We flew through an entire flock of the little creatures and, although I was pretty sure we’d hit more than one, I didn’t feel or even hear their impact. The bloody stains we discovered on the Gulfstream’s nose and right wing once the airplane was pulled into the hangar, however, confirmed we’d struck two of the unfortunate animals.
On touchdown, the Gulfstream’s captain reported to the tower: “We just flew through a flock of those little birds.” There was an acknowledgment over the radio, nothing more. Bird strikes at KMMU are a common occurence; the ATIS perpetually warns of “birds and wildlife on or near the airport.” Hitting a few starlings in a Gulfstream really isn’t a big deal.
Or so I thought. The FAA recently launched an outreach campaign for the general aviation community that seeks to boost wildlife strike reporting by pilots, airports, mechanics, engine makers, and flight schools. For decades the FAA has worked to reduce wildlife strikes at airports, and the agency periodically conducts studies to gauge the effectiveness of its programs. Apparently, a great many bird and wildlife strikes are going unreported. The FAA wants that to change, and has created a reporting website and even added code scanners to its bird strike prevention posters for the benefit of savvy smartphone users.
The idea is to collect as much data about bird and wildlife strikes as possible to help improve mitigation strategies. You'd think the ditching of a US Airways Airbus in the Hudson after tangling with a flock of Canada Geese would be all the convincing pilots would need, but apparently not. At any rate, here are some interesting facts and figures about bird strikes culled from the FAA website:
- There have been more than 100,000 reported bird strikes in the U.S. since 1990.
- Most bird strikes occur during the daytime between July and October.
- Most bird strikes occur during approach and landing.
- Since 1990, there have been a total of 23 deaths attributed to wildlife strikes.
- Since 1990, a total of 52 civil aircraft have been destroyed by wildlife strikes.
- 97.5 percent of all wildlife strikes are by birds.
- Orville Wright reported the first bird strike in 1905.
I also came across a piece of historical information that made me rethink the seriousness of my recent bird-strike encounter in the Gulfstream: On Oct. 4, 1960, Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, struck a flock of European starlings on takeoff. All four engines were damaged and the aircraft crashed in Boston harbor. There were 62 fatalities, making it the deadliest bird-strike encounter in history. The incident occurred prior to the creation of the FAA’s Wildlife Strike Database.
Considering the effort the FAA is putting into wildlife strike tracking and mitigation, the least we pilots can do is provide the raw data. Filling out a report on the FAA website takes less than five minutes. If you have a bird strike, or have had one in the past, go ahead and report it.
All Comments
Maybe it's my pessimistic view of government agencies, but I would never report a bird strike to the FAA unless it resulted in an accident. All we need is for the EPA (or similar agency) to get it's hands on this data, discover that our little airport is "murdering" 20 rare sparrows a year with our gas-guzzling, ozone torching flying contraptions, and they'll use that data against the citizens to:
a) raise taxes in my community so we can further investigate how rare this sparrow might be
b) raise taxes on general airport usage as kind of a "penalty" for murdering sparrows
c) raise taxes to fund a committee to research how we can save 3-4 more sparrows a year through high-tech gadgetry or airport closures during migration seasons.
d) raise taxes to fund the additional staff and computers needed to collect and process this data
e) raise taxes to build a sparrow sanctuary away from the airport and hire a sparrow pied piper to lure them all to this new sanctuary.
f) all of the above
Thanks but no thanks FAA.
What an asinine comment from DuckR1. Save your angry screeds for your political blog. With your "view" of the "world," we shouldn't report icing, turbulence, large wildlife on runways, etc etc etc. After all this information, in your paranoid world, could lead to NOAA or the FAA raising taxes for each in-flight weather report, proclaim that each report of severe icing or severe turbulence is proof of global warming and chain your plain to the ground with you in it, etc. Calm down and take your pill. A class in anger management might be in order, too, as the evil authorities could pull your ticket.
Tin hats work, too.
Sorry reykjavik, I'll have to go with DuckR1 on this one. Never voluntarily give the FAA information that could be used against you. I fly both professionally and for pleasure, and consequently am very wary of giving them any ammunition they can use to further encroach on our ability to fly. The FAA’s number one priority is what we used to call in the USAF “empire building.” The FAA is looking for any excuse to get bigger and have something else to control or regulate. We as aviators do not want to see the FAA or any other government agency get bigger or more oppressive. You want the opposite to happen. Around where I live, in the last six yeas or so, the FAA has constructed control towers at New Smyrna Beach, Ormond Beach, Flagler County (and trying to put one in Deland) airports. None of these are wanted or needed. Reporting a bird strike to them isn’t going to change or help you when you fly so why do it?
Easy there, Reyk. Just because it's not your opinion, doesn't mean it's asinine. I work and fly for the government, and I have to lean toward the Duck on this as well. Some bunny hugger somewhere is gonna get his hands on this info and use it to save gnats. Or we'll all have to buy and install bird whistles on our pitot tubes.
I'm with you guys. And, I am an inveterate bunny hugger. Some birds are going to get turned into feathers, and that's just the cost of sharing the skies. I think the Duck is right on here, farfetched as it may seem....
Remember, the FAA wanted to keep these reports private, but that all changed after the Hudson ditching. The FAA will probably end up having to compel pilots to report bird strikes to the NTSB, with that information filed in the accident/incident database under the pilot's name and tail number. I'm guessing it'll take one more high profile bird strike accident for it to happen.
If you guys are too paraoid to communicate safety-relevant info to the FAA directly, then consider at least filing an ASRS ("NASA") report about your wildlife strikes. That way, it's confidential but will still get reported. No losers.
I think DuckR1 has a point. If there is a way to positively use data, someone will find a way to also misuse that vewry same data. I wonder if the data showed a concentration of bird strikes at certain airports, if there would be a call (in the 'interest of public safety') to close that airport. Immagine a newspaper headline ' of the pilots flying out of airport XYZ, who participated in this study, 100% reported hitting birds'. So one report could be spun to the point of panicing an uneducted public.
