Claris Law Legal Blogging Community

Editor: James T. Crouse
Profession: Aviation Accident Attorney

Category: Plane Crashes

A "bird strike" is a common threat to aircraft safety and although the fatalities to civil aircraft are quite low, the bird strikes do cause damage to the aircraft when the birds hit the windscreen or are ingested into the engines - causing an annual damage of about $400 million in the U.S and an estimated $1.2 billion worldwide to commercial aircraft. While birds do pose most of the threat (97%), other wildlife hit planes during take-offs or landings including deer, coyotes, and alligators resulting in well over $600 million of US civil and military aviation and over 219 people have been killed worldwide as a result of these wildlife strikes according to the FAA.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere said: "Bird strikes do happen from time to time."

She said there have been few major accidents due to bird strikes, "and not in many years -- not like this one. ... It's more common in general aviation, smaller aircraft."

Ms Kay called birds "a definite Achilles' heel" for aviation.

The following are some facts about the dangers birds pose to aviation.

* Damage by birds and other wildlife striking aircraft annually amounts to well over $600 million for US civil and military aviation and over 219 people have been killed worldwide as a result of wildlife strikes since 1988.

* Birds have posed a danger as long as people have been flying. The first recorded bird strike was by Oliver Wright, who wrote in his diary that his plane hit a bird, probably a red-winged blackbird, over Ohio in September 1905.

* Birds are not the only wildlife problem for aircraft but they do account for 97 percent of wildlife strikes. Other animals that have hit planes during take-off or landing include deer, coyotes, bats and alligators.

* Waterfowl (31 per cent), gulls (26 per cent), and raptors (18 per cent) represented three quarters of the reported bird strikes causing damage to US civil aircraft, 1990-2007.

* Over 760 civil aircraft collisions with deer and 250 collisions with coyotes were reported in the United States, 1990-2007.

* BirName

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