Mid-air scare: 45 bird-hits in 8 months

Mumbai: A bird strike has always been one the worst nightmares for pilots, and the plane crash in New York shows how perilous avian activity around air-fields can be. The Airbus 320, which landed in the Hudson, apparently crashed after a flock of geese were sucked into the two engines of the aircraft.
Though this incident happened outside the air-field, the scene at Mumbai airport rings alarm bells. According to airport sources, there have already been three incidents of bird-hits in January. December 2008 saw as many as nine such incidents; August and October recorded seven bird-hits each.
ATC GM M Jhungare admitted to an increase in bird activity in the last two months. Though chances of a bird hitting the aircraft are high world over, the location of Mumbai airport only worsens the situation.
"This can be extremely dangerous. Any of these hits here could have spelled disaster had the bird been ingested into the engine,'' said a senior Air India pilot, who has faced three bird-hit situations in his flying career. "Even while taking-off or landing, birds seem like tiny jets. It is difficult to make out their presence,'' he added.
According to experts, the intensity of a bird-hit depends on the part of the aircraft it collides with. If it hits the wing, the chances of the bird getting sucked into the engine are very high. Almost a decade ago, a bird had hit the cockpit glass of an aircraft, injuring the pilot inside. The flight had to make an emergency landing.
17/01/09 Chinmayi Shalya/Times of India

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Categories: Safety Jan 2009