Global aviation loses $1.2b to bird strike

[TGD]

 THE danger posed to civil aviation by birds and the way to tackle the menace dominated proceedings yesterday as the United States (U.S.) and various agencies in the aviation industry met in Nigeria to discuss the way out of the problem.

The U.S. highest aviation safety regulator, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Senior Representative in Africa, Moira Keane, said in the global context of air transport, bird strike remained a dominant natural phenomenon of great concern.

A bird strike is a collision between an airborne animal and a man-made vehicle, especially aircraft. Bird strikes happen most often during takeoff or landing, or during low altitude flight.

However, bird strikes have also been reported at high altitudes, some as high as 6,000 m (20,000 ft) to 9,000 m (30,000 ft) above the ground.

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Anne Ene-Ita, explained that the phenomenon was not peculiar to West Africa, adding that bird strikes caused yearly damages that have been estimated at $400 million within the U.S. alone and up to $1.2 billion to commercial aircraft worldwide.

One Nigerian airline recorded a loss of about N270 million to a recent bird strike on one of its airplanes.

According to Ene-Ita, "we all may recall also the menace of bird strike in New York to the American airliner in a collision with a flock of birds causing the Airbus 320 airplane to lose power and ditch in the Hudson River just after take-off, even though all the 155 passengers and crew survived the landing on the river."

She noted that the situation in Nigeria as in other West African countries was even more worrisome due to the frequency of such incidents in view of the attraction of different species of wildlife to the airports replete with bushes and wastes spots.

These factors, Ene-Ita added, had been responsible for the heavy presence of birds at the airports, a situation, she said has continued to expose aircraft to the menace of bird strikes and other wildlife incidents.

Her words: "The menace of bird strike in Nigeria has been identified as a major threat to air safety. In the recent past, a number of aircraft had suffered incidents of bird strike across airports in Nigeria with a huge economic loss annually."

To curb the menace, FAAN adopted an action/implementation plan for its bird hazard control programme, which is structured into three phases based on the prevalence of bird strikes at the airports.

In his address, Director General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Harold Demuren, disclosed that Nigeria recorded 155 bird strikes between January 2009 and June 2011. Seventy cases were reported in 2009, 53 in 2010 and 22 in 2011.

At the height of the menace, the airlines, under the auspices of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), threatened to drag FAAN to court to compel it to pay the costs incurred in repairing damaged aircraft as a result of wildlife incidents.

Demuren said: "Bird strikes resulting in air returns cause many flight delays and cancellations. The cost in time and repairs and the inconvenience to travellers are not just the unpleasant ends but are also important consideration in insurance coverage."



Source: The Guardian.