Birds, which pose a great danger to aircraft such as airplanes and helicopters, can cause 40-ton planes to crash even though they weigh an average of 2 kg. When we talk about why this size difference should not mislead you, you will understand that you should not underestimate bird strikes.
Birds too if in a flock flight safety may become even more endangered. Although birds usually manage to change direction at the last moment before striking, sometimes they may not have time to do so.
To get information about this situation, which has serious consequences for both humans and special creatures such as birds, We consulted with Msc Aeronautical Engineer Meriç Kahvecioğlu and why the birds, the true owners of the sky, pose a danger to the giant metal birds.
90% of crashes occur when planes are taking off or landing.
That is, the common space of the plane and the birds. in areas close to the ground. However, there are cases that occur at high altitudes such as 7,000-10,000 meters.
Bird strike events that can cause serious damage to the aircraft; Bird strikes to the engine, the cockpit glass and the radome (the nose of the plane).
View of damaged fan blades from bird strike of a JT8D jet engine
Although the bird is not observed much when it enters the engine it can go to the very depths; this can cause the engine to stall and major parts of the engine components to be completely replaced after landing. It can cause very high costs in maintenance.
Bird strikes on the radome in the nose of the aircraft are mostly irreparable and cause change.
radome for 300 thousand dollars It is a component that can go up. In case of bird strikes in other structural areas, repair is mostly possible, and safety-shaking situations in the air are not experienced in crashes in these areas.
In the event of bird strikes on the cockpit window, the aircraft usually does not deviate from the target and does not make an emergency landing.
However, it will puncture the glass or in situations that would affect the pilot’s vision safety situation occurs and the aircraft has to land in the nearest square.
The collision of an airplane traveling at 800 km/h and a bird traveling at 350 km per hour causes a collision force of many tons on the aircraft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNvRPqbNraw
The force of the blow; The weight of the bird affects the speed difference and direction at the time of impact. The magnitude of the collision force, with the square of the speed difference increases proportionally.
The interesting thing is that besides the 2 kilogram birds, even a coin or a screw may cause the same danger.
So, is there a chance that the plane crashed due to the engine breaking down as a result of this collision?
It is possible for the engine to fail completely, but a passenger plane can fly and land with a single engine. If both engines fail It is also possible that the plane crashed. For this reason, in order to reduce this danger, a speed limit of 450 km per hour has been introduced for flights below 3000 meters.
For example, on October 4, 1960, a passenger plane taking off from Boston crashed after hitting a flock of birds just 10 seconds after takeoff.
Three of its four engines a flock of birds entered; one of the engines was completely broken, the other two engines could be taken with minimal power. The pilot tube, one of the vital parts of the aircraft, was also damaged.
The speedometers on the cockpit display therefore misled the pilots as they showed incorrect data. As a result, the airplane stalled and tipped over, and the He fell into the sea with 72 people. Only 10 people survived.
There have been many fatal accidents due to bird strikes, but there is also an example where the disaster was turned away.
A passenger plane taking off from New York in 2009 collided with a flock of geese just after takeoff and lost both engines. Captain pilot Sully, Thereupon, he lowered the plane into the river and managed to save the lives of those on board.
Bird strikes usually occur during bird migration.
Geese, seagulls, ducks and birds of prey It is known as the bird species most involved in accidents. Especially in these periods, Air Traffic Control towers warn the pilots against the swarms.
Although these metal birds are marvels of engineering, they do not yet have one hundred percent security against the birds that are the true owners of the sky. Although hundreds of people lost their lives due to this situation, the rate of loss of life is still very low It’s good to be reminded that.
Well, if we put wire mesh in front of aircraft engines, can’t we prevent bird strikes? The answer is here:
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