Bird strike truncates flight; no injuries reported

MIAMI — A Spirit Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to New York City on Monday morning was cut short in South Florida after a bird strike.

The plane, Flight 758, landed safely at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport, said Misty Pinson, a Spirit spokeswoman.

Shortly after takeoff, a bird struck the plane’s
nose, and, following protocol, the flight’s captain decided to return
to the airport as a precaution.

There were no reports of injury, and the flight’s passengers have since been sent to LaGuardia Airport on another plane. The aircraft in question has been inspected, cleared and is back in operation.

The incident is another reminder of the havoc birds can cause aircraft.

Collisions between aircraft and birds have long
posed a serious safety problem and are expected to grow in frequency
and potential severity over the next decade despite mitigation efforts
by airports, according to experts.

Among the most notable was last year’s heroic landing by US Airways Capt. Chesley B. Sullenberger III, who safely landed his airplane on the Hudson River,
saving the lives of 155 crew members and passengers. Investigators
later discovered that Canada geese had struck the plane’s two engines
soon after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport.

At South Florida
airports, officials have sought all kinds of ways to keep airfields
clear of birds, including the use of propane cannons blasted every few
minutes to scare away flocks.

Such incidents cost the aviation business more than $600 million a year. Since the 1990s, the number of bird strikes reported in the United States has topped 80,000, but federal authorities say only about 20 percent of strikes actually get reported.

The latest figures at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport show 19 strikes in one year, while seven were recorded at Miami International Airport.

The frequency of bird strikes is caused by two
factors: Many wildlife species have adapted to living in urban areas,
including airports, while air traffic has skyrocketed over the past
several decades.

Most bird strikes occur between July and October,
and a majority happen when the aircraft is at a height of 100 feet or
less above ground, the database shows. As in the US Airways accident, aircraft engines are the part most frequently damaged.

In South Florida, the most common birds the airports battle are vultures, grackles, doves, starlings and cattle egrets.

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