Bird strike

A bird strike (sometimes called birdstrike, bird ingestion (for an engine), bird hit, or bird aircraft strike hazard (BASH)) is a collision between a flying animal (usually a bird, occasionally bat) and a moving vehicle (typically an aircraft, occasionally high-speed train or automobile). The term is also used for bird deaths resulting from collisions with high-rise buildings, towers (see bird–skyscraper collisions and towerkill) and tall structures such as overhead power lines and wind turbines.

A significant threat to aviation safety, bird strikes have caused a number of accidents with human casualties. Nevertheless, the number of major accidents involving civil aircraft is quite low, and the majority of bird strikes cause little damage to the aircraft despite usually being fatal to the bird(s) involved. Efforts have been made to mitigate both the risk and severity of bird strike incidents.

Factors affecting probability

Bird strikes are more likely to occur at low altitudes. Strikes have been reported to occur most during the takeoff, climb, approach, and landing phases of flight. Many aircraft fly above the altitudes than birds typically fly, reducing risk of strike at higher altitudes. However, bird strikes have still been reported at high altitudes, some as high as 6,000 to 9,000 m (20,000 to 30,000 ft) above the ground. For instance, an aircraft over the Ivory Coast collided with a Rüppell's vulture at the altitude of 11,300 m (37,100 ft), the current record avian height.