A Virgin Australia flight, VA 148, experienced a significant issue just after departing from Queenstown, New Zealand more than a week ago. Shortly following takeoff, there were loud bangs and flashes of fire from the right engine of the Boeing 737-800 plane. Despite this frightening incident, the pilot managed to land the aircraft, which was carrying 73 passengers and crew, safely at Invercargill airport using the remaining functional engine. Virgin Australia pointed to a possible bird strike as the cause, while Queenstown Airport claimed this to be improbable due to no birds being present on the airfield during that time. The exact cause is unknown, but bird strikes are a known risk and hazard in the aviation industry.
Bird strikes—collisions between a bird and an aircraft—are surprisingly common. Since the first recorded bird strike by Orville Wright in 1905, these episodes occur daily, with varying seasonal frequencies due to bird migration patterns. One of the most notorious occurrences involved US Airways Flight 1549 in 2009. Shortly after departing LaGuardia Airport, the flight ran into a flock of Canadian geese, resulting in dual engine failure and requiring an unpowered landing on the Hudson River.
The majority, 90%, of bird strikes transpire near airports, often when planes are on approach or departure, or while flying at lower altitudes, where birds are most prevalent. The severity of bird strikes is variable and depends on factors such as airplane type. A bird strike might necessitate the shut down of an engine, as presumably occurred on the recent Virgin Australia flight. For smaller, single-engine aircraft, the outcome could be deadly. Since 1988, bird strikes have been responsible for 262 global fatalities and the destruction of 250 aircraft.
Measures are implemented across the aviation industry to counteract bird strikes. Pilots are trained to be extra vigilant during dawn and dusk when bird activity is heightened. Additionally, radar systems can be deployed to track bird movements, but its use is limited due to unavailability in all regions. Large passenger jet manufacturers, namely Boeing and Airbus, employ turbofan engines that can sustain significant damage from bird strikes, particularly to the fan blades, leading to engine failure. To test engine resilience, manufacturers launch a high-speed chicken towards operating engines. Wildlife hazard management protocols encourage the use of scare tactics like mimicking shotgun sounds, and the placement of non-attractive grasses in high bird population areas, among other methods.
This article’s initial version incorrectly mentioned that frozen, instead of fresh chickens, are used in engine tests.