Executive summary What happened On the morning of 9 July 2022, a Bell 206 L-1, registered VH-ZMF departed a private helipad at Cattai, NSW for a private flight. About 9 minutes later, the helicopter impacted terrain about 10 km to the north of the departure point. The helicopter was destroyed, and the pilot, who was […]
The FAA recently issued Information for Operators 23005 reiterating a 2016 government/industry rotorcraft bird strike working group study and summarizing its recommendations. For example, helicopter operators should learn about the local bird population and use it to plan and fly routes. “Among the key considerations are seasonal migratory times and concentration patterns within the typical operating area.” […]
Dealing with unavoidable wildlife encounters. Planes aren’t the only birds in the sky. Unfortunately, bird strikes are surprisingly common in general and commercial aviation. How pilots respond to bird strikes depends on where the bird impacted the plane, how much damage was caused, and what the airline dictates their pilots should do. Let’s talk about what pilots do after […]
Almost fifty bird strikes are reported daily on average. Only a fraction of those cause any significant damage. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, an average of 47 aircraft strikes are reported daily. The vast majority of those, some 97% of bird strikes, occur close to takeoff or landings. Bird strikes generally happen below 3,000 […]
When the first runway at Navi Mumbai International Airport becomes operational in late 2024, Mumbai’s second airport will be able to handle 20 million passengers a year. Once completed in 2032, the airport will ultimately be able to cater to 90 million annual passengers. The airport’s developer and the city’s government say the project is […]
Fourteen years after bird strikes forced the ditching of US Airways flight 1549 into the Hudson River, the Federal Aviation Administration has completed a rule intended to make aircraft engines more resilient to ingesting birds. The FAA on 4 April published a final rule requiring turbofans be tested to ensure resilience against what is calls […]
In 2021 alone, birdstrikes resulted in $328 million in losses and 140,000 hours of aircraft downtime Bird strikes, which occur when a bird collides with an aircraft, can have serious consequences, including damage to the aircraft, injuries to passengers and crew, and in some cases, fatalities. As such, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has been taking proactive […]
While flying the full published RNAV approach to ZZZ, after being cleared for the approach, completing the procedure turn and established inbound at 2,200 feet in approach configuration (110 kts 50% flap, autopilot) a bird (eagle?) struck the windshield high on the pilot side. Pilot was wearing foggles for the approach while the co-pilot/safety pilot […]
Jan. 26 (UPI) — The U.S. Justice Department announced that Boeing is being arraigned Thursday on a criminal conspiracy to commit fraud charge related to two separate 737 Max jet crashes in Indonesia in 2018 and Ethiopia in 2019 that killed 346 people. U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor ordered Boeing’s public arraignment on the felony […]
Jan. 24 (UPI) — A bird strike likely contributed to the deadly crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said Tuesday. The NTSB released its final report Tuesday on the factors analyzed in the crash that killed 157 people in 2019. Tuesday’s report deviated in multiple parts from conclusions drawn by the Aircraft […]
