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Episode60-Bird Strike
It is a bird, it is a plane. It is flying across the sky.
Nick: Hello guys, thanks for tuning in to 5 Minuteswith AOPA-China. This is Nick.
Claire: This is Claire. First of all, we have a pieceof news. I believe most of you may have heard of it. A Russian passenger jetA321 made an emergency landing in a cornfield shortly after takeoff fromMoscow.
Nick: Very fortunately, all 226 passengers and sevencrew members were safe, no fatalities.
Claire: It is said that some birds were sucked into theengines, causing engine failure.At last, the plane landed with its engines offand landing gears retracted.
Nick: Sounds really frightening. Never underestimatethe impact of these little creatures. Remember Flight 1549, the famous ditchingcase, known as the “Miracle On The Hudson”? It wasalso the bird strike that caused the accident.
Claire: The captain was hailed as a hero.Many people say Damir Yusupovhe is Russian Capt.Sully and speak highly of thecrew’s courage and professionalism. Just can’t imagine what the consequenceswould be if the crew didn’t make the correct decision.
Nick: Compared to an airplane, a bird doesn’tlook so destructive. What makes it so dangerous?
Claire: A bird is harmless, but a birdstrike can be deadly. If the birds are sucked into the engine, it will lead tocompressor stall. And a compressor stall can lead to a total loss of enginethrust, severe vibrations and loud bang of engines. It can have catastrophiceffect such as complete engine failure.
Nick: To conclude, jet aircraft are reallysusceptible to bird strike. But what about GA aircraft? They are small, andmost of them are propeller-driven. Comparatively speaking, birds are not easilysucked into their engines.
Claire: You are right. Small aircraft aremost likely to experience structural damage brought by bird strikes, such asthe penetration of flight deck windscreens or damage to control surfaces or theempennage. The force of the impact on an aircraft generally depends on theweight of the bird and the difference in velocity.
Nick: In some cases, especially with smallerfixed wing aircraft and helicopters, windscreen penetration may result ininjury to pilots or other persons on board and has sometimes led to loss ofcontrol.
Claire: Bird Strikes can be a significantthreat to aircraft safety.
Nick: After doing some research, I findthat bird strikes occur more frequently than I thought. Here are somestatistics. According to FAA, there are about 14,400 strikes at 700 US airportsin 2017. About 53% of bird strikes occur from July to October which is whenyoung birds recently have fledged from nests and fall migration starts. About63% of bird strikes with civil aircraft occur in day, 8% at dawn or dusk, and29% at night.
Claire: About 61% of bird strikes occurduring landing; 36% during take-off run and climb; and the remaining 3% duringthe en-route phase.
Nick: Since bird strikes are so common,here comes the question, what should we to mitigate it?
Claire: That’s a pretty long storyactually. I have been reading a book about it recently. Different rolesincluding airports, air service providers, pilots and airframe&enginemanufacturers have different work to do.Take airports and pilots as examples.
Nick: Airports need to do well in habitatmanagement, including reduction or elimination of trees, shrubs and other plantswhich provide food, shelter or roosting site for birds. Also they should keepmonitoring birds and use scaring techniques to disperse them.
And my maintenance friend who works inChongqing Jiangbei Airport tells me that the airport keeps an eye on all thewildlife around, they record every possible data and study how birds behave. Sothey can take particular measures to deal with their enemies which for them arepigeons.
Claire: As bird strikes may occur mostlikely during the take-off, initial climb, approach and landing phases, pilotsneed to check NOTAM or ATIS for bird activity at departure and destinationairport. Plan to fly as high as possible, most birds fly below 2500ft. Birdsusually escape by diving, so try to fly over them, but do NOT risk a stall orspin. If the windshield is broken or cracked, slow the aircraft to reduce windblast, follow approved procedures, use sunglasses or smoke goggles to reducethe effect of wind, precipitation, or debris, but remember to fly the aircraft.
Nick: Don't be distracted by the blood,feathers, smell and windblast. I just know the fact that small general aviationaeroplane and helicopter windshields are not required to be tested against birdimpact.
Claire: Gulls and pigeons can hole lightaircraft windshields.
Nick: What else can you do with bird strikeas a pilot? Or did you experience any bird strike? Welcome to share with usyour ideas and stories.
Claire: That brings us to the end of today’s5 Minutes with AOPA-China. If you like our podcast, please tell your friendsmore about us. Rate us or review us on Wechat, Facebook, Twitter, Ximalaya orany podcast platform. Thanks for listening. See you next time.
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By 上官琪琳 李方旺It is a bird, it is a plane. It is flying across the sky.
Nick: Hello guys, thanks for tuning in to 5 Minuteswith AOPA-China. This is Nick.
Claire: This is Claire. First of all, we have a pieceof news. I believe most of you may have heard of it. A Russian passenger jetA321 made an emergency landing in a cornfield shortly after takeoff fromMoscow.
Nick: Very fortunately, all 226 passengers and sevencrew members were safe, no fatalities.
Claire: It is said that some birds were sucked into theengines, causing engine failure.At last, the plane landed with its engines offand landing gears retracted.
Nick: Sounds really frightening. Never underestimatethe impact of these little creatures. Remember Flight 1549, the famous ditchingcase, known as the “Miracle On The Hudson”? It wasalso the bird strike that caused the accident.
Claire: The captain was hailed as a hero.Many people say Damir Yusupovhe is Russian Capt.Sully and speak highly of thecrew’s courage and professionalism. Just can’t imagine what the consequenceswould be if the crew didn’t make the correct decision.
Nick: Compared to an airplane, a bird doesn’tlook so destructive. What makes it so dangerous?
Claire: A bird is harmless, but a birdstrike can be deadly. If the birds are sucked into the engine, it will lead tocompressor stall. And a compressor stall can lead to a total loss of enginethrust, severe vibrations and loud bang of engines. It can have catastrophiceffect such as complete engine failure.
Nick: To conclude, jet aircraft are reallysusceptible to bird strike. But what about GA aircraft? They are small, andmost of them are propeller-driven. Comparatively speaking, birds are not easilysucked into their engines.
Claire: You are right. Small aircraft aremost likely to experience structural damage brought by bird strikes, such asthe penetration of flight deck windscreens or damage to control surfaces or theempennage. The force of the impact on an aircraft generally depends on theweight of the bird and the difference in velocity.
Nick: In some cases, especially with smallerfixed wing aircraft and helicopters, windscreen penetration may result ininjury to pilots or other persons on board and has sometimes led to loss ofcontrol.
Claire: Bird Strikes can be a significantthreat to aircraft safety.
Nick: After doing some research, I findthat bird strikes occur more frequently than I thought. Here are somestatistics. According to FAA, there are about 14,400 strikes at 700 US airportsin 2017. About 53% of bird strikes occur from July to October which is whenyoung birds recently have fledged from nests and fall migration starts. About63% of bird strikes with civil aircraft occur in day, 8% at dawn or dusk, and29% at night.
Claire: About 61% of bird strikes occurduring landing; 36% during take-off run and climb; and the remaining 3% duringthe en-route phase.
Nick: Since bird strikes are so common,here comes the question, what should we to mitigate it?
Claire: That’s a pretty long storyactually. I have been reading a book about it recently. Different rolesincluding airports, air service providers, pilots and airframe&enginemanufacturers have different work to do.Take airports and pilots as examples.
Nick: Airports need to do well in habitatmanagement, including reduction or elimination of trees, shrubs and other plantswhich provide food, shelter or roosting site for birds. Also they should keepmonitoring birds and use scaring techniques to disperse them.
And my maintenance friend who works inChongqing Jiangbei Airport tells me that the airport keeps an eye on all thewildlife around, they record every possible data and study how birds behave. Sothey can take particular measures to deal with their enemies which for them arepigeons.
Claire: As bird strikes may occur mostlikely during the take-off, initial climb, approach and landing phases, pilotsneed to check NOTAM or ATIS for bird activity at departure and destinationairport. Plan to fly as high as possible, most birds fly below 2500ft. Birdsusually escape by diving, so try to fly over them, but do NOT risk a stall orspin. If the windshield is broken or cracked, slow the aircraft to reduce windblast, follow approved procedures, use sunglasses or smoke goggles to reducethe effect of wind, precipitation, or debris, but remember to fly the aircraft.
Nick: Don't be distracted by the blood,feathers, smell and windblast. I just know the fact that small general aviationaeroplane and helicopter windshields are not required to be tested against birdimpact.
Claire: Gulls and pigeons can hole lightaircraft windshields.
Nick: What else can you do with bird strikeas a pilot? Or did you experience any bird strike? Welcome to share with usyour ideas and stories.
Claire: That brings us to the end of today’s5 Minutes with AOPA-China. If you like our podcast, please tell your friendsmore about us. Rate us or review us on Wechat, Facebook, Twitter, Ximalaya orany podcast platform. Thanks for listening. See you next time.