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...flock of birds can have serious consequences and constitute danger to air traffic. Around 50,000 bird strikes on civil aircraft are recorded worldwide every year, and many more are believed to go unreported. According to figures released by the ICAO in 2003, accidents caused by bird strikes had up until then resulted in the loss of 400 lives and the destruction of 420 aircraft. Although most do not cause injuries or fatalities, their economic costs are immense.
It is estimated that around 11% (corresponding to about 5,500 civil flights worldwide every year) of all bird strikes actually affect the flight of the aircraft. The American FAA estimates that aircraft collisions with wildlife (including on-ground collisions with deer, coyotes, etc.) annually cost the USA's civil aviation industry at least $500 million in direct damage and associated costs, and 500,000 hours of aircraft down-time. The jet age has aggravated the problem as jet aircraft are fast and relatively quiet (and therefore more difficult for birds to identify), and the fan blades of their engines are more vulnerable than propellers to bird strike damage. Experts do not believe that the bird strike problem will be resolved in the near future--on the contrary, birds and aircraft will increasingly compete for airspace in our crowded skies.
Risk concentration
international statistics pinpoint the danger of bird strikes as reaching their highest level during the take-off and landing phases. Although occasional strikes have been reported at higher altitudes, the ICAO estimates that about 90% of all collisions between aircraft and birds occur either at or close to an airport. According to statistical data gathered by the FAA between 1990 and 2003, 41% of all bird strikes occur whilst the aircraft is on the ground and an accumulated 61% at an altitude of up to 100ft (30.48m). As the FAA statistics indicate, larger, low-flying birds account for the majority of strikes--gulls are involved in 25% of incidents, followed by doves/pigeons (14%), raptors (12%) and waterfowl (10%). Whilst this composition may vary in other parts of the world, the strike risk concentration close to the ground is a global one....
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