Birdstrike

In aviation we say that a birdstrike occurs, when a flying machine has hit or been hit by a living and flying bird, midair or during takeoff. Most of the times, this situation is grave and the bird dies. In civil aviation the chances are very favorable to the people in the aircraft, when something like that occurs. Even though it is not uncommon to have birdstrike or bird ingestion (bird goes through the engine) the percentages says the full story, only 1 flight in 1 billion (10⁹) flight hours may result in a human death by birdstrike. Although the possibility of a death is rather slim (well not for the bird), the economic effect is gigantic, only 1.5 billion dollars spent on damages to civil aviation aircraft each year!!!

Even though single engine aircraft of this category are the smallest ones you can find, the protection granted to the occupants is excellent. If the propeller is housed in the front of the plane, then the bird will simply be cut to piecebefore it gets to the fuselage. Of course the propeller will have to be inspected and in some extreme cases the engine undertake a shockload inspection, but most of the times a pop inspection and a good cleaning of the aircraft will do the job.

Here the thinks get really mixed up. It all depends on the type of aircraft (ex.Cessna C337 has no problem here). If the aircraft is configured as a pull and push configuration the the single engine magic happens here too, but if it is the side by side configuration the windshield will have to hold on tight. With nothing other to separate the cabin of the aircraft from the bird the strength of the windshield will be tested. Most light twins are hopeless in this aspect. None of them have proven birdstrike proven windshields and they rely mostly on the angle of the windshield to deflect the forces of the bird impact. Heavier twins and turboprops are equipped with birdstrike proven windshields making them safer. At this point it is worth mentioning that the forces that occur well a bird hits directly a plane flying at 100knots(185km/h) are huge, and many times the birds go through the weak metal panels of the aircraft skin(like nosecones) ending up either inside the forward baggage compartment or the sticking out of the avionics console.

The biggest danger for a jet aircraft is bird ingestion. Bird ingestion is when a bird or a folk of birds is ingested into the jet engine. Most people can`t even comprehend how much damage and engine can take and how fast it is put out of operation after a bird ingestion. Even if only one of the compressor blades is broken of the haul engine will follow fast. All though today’s civilian jets are equipped with engines designed and tested to withstand a bird strike and still keep going the danger is everyday there. The only aircraft that I am aware of that lost both it`s jet engines midair from birdstrike was saved by its crew (US Airways 1549), when they ditched their Airbus A320 in Hudson river on January 2009 with no fatalities. From the safety of this category of aircraft they are the safest aircraft in a case of birdstrike because they have been designed to be so, proven windshields and the immense thrust of the jet engines will warranty a getaway even with a single engine inop and a windshield covered in blood and bird remains.

More problematic is the situation when the bird doesn`t strike the prop or the engines but goes for the wing and flight surfaces. The outcome for the bird is the same, instant death, but the trouble for the airplane now starts. Again deferent aircraft will suffer deferent damages. Bigger aircraft mostly will have their iceblankets cut and sustain minor dents but smaller aircraft might sustain heavy wing reaps, leaks from the tanks, big skin deformations and in the worst case scenario the bird hits a primary control surface(aileron, elevator, rudder, stabilator) it might lead to lose of control and control lockup. If a bird reaps a gap on the leading edge of the wing (Most common wing damage by birds) it might reach all the way to the first wing spar making the wing a huge vacuum cleaner increasing dramatically the drag on one wing.