The following airlines allow pet birds and parrots in cargo hold: –
Aegean Air Aeroflot Airline Air India Alaska Air Alitalia Finnair Japan Airlines WestJet
Airlines have very strict rules and regulations when it comes to taking birds on their planes. In this article, we will list the policies of each airline, including carrier size and weight restrictions and the number of birds you are permitted to bring. We will also list the airline’s fees in 2020 for bringing a bird on board the cabin and in the cargo.
Can you fly with a bird on a plane?
Traveling by airline – Rules for pets vary by airline, although there are federal regulations requiring that cargo sections suitable for transporting pets be temperature controlled and pressurized. Air travel can be especially stressful for birds if they have to travel as “live animal” cargo.
You may be required to remove your bird so its carrier can be inspected by the Transportation Security Administration. Make sure you have an avian harness; otherwise your bird may panic in the loud and bustling airport.You will be required to have an airlines approved carrier. Before you make your reservations, check with the airline to make sure you will be able to transport your pets. Try to take a nonstop flight to reduce the stress.Birds are not allowed to travel in the cabin on international flights.Let your birds get used to its travel carrier before the trip. Also, include its favorite toys and treats for the trip. Anything that is familiar to the bird will make its trip less stressful.Not all airlines accept birds and not all airlines that accept birds will take all birds. More planning on your part will lead to the least stressful trip for you and your bird.
: Moving with Birds
Can cockatiels fly on planes?
What bird species are allowed on airplanes? – Different airlines have specific rules on which bird species they allow on their planes, as either carry-on or as checked baggage. Generally, in order to fly, your bird must be a ‘household bird’, In other words, your bird must be a pet and not a wild bird.
Household birds include parrots, cockatoos, parakeets, cockatiels, budgies, canaries and finches, among others. Most airlines won’t allow chickens or other poultry on their flights. Airlines also usually require that your bird is odourless and quiet. For example – Hawaiian Airlines states that birds must be: Harmless, inoffensive, odourless and not require attention during flight.
If you have a particularly noisy bird and want to take him/her in the cabin, call your airline to find out whether it would be okay. It is important to note that some birds are illegal in certain countries, states or territories. If travelling to or passing through one of these areas with a bird that is illegal, you will need to make prior arrangements to ensure you follow the state law.
Does Emirates allow birds in cabin?
Bird Restrictions Emirates will not permit the transport of non-acclimated, wild caught birds. Any species subject to CITES requirements must be transported in cargo with prior approval.
Which airline is most pet friendly?
You must reserve a spot in advance — so your pet’s travels aren’t guaranteed (even if your seat is booked) – Even on the best airline for flying with pets, Alaska, it’s not a guarantee that your pet can fly. That’s because all airlines limit the overall number of pets allowed in the main cabin and cargo.
- For example, Alaska’s first-class cabin can accommodate only one pet carrier per flight, and the main cabin accommodates up to five.
- You’ll generally need to contact the airline to reserve a space for your pet.
- Always confirm space is available before booking your own seat, as you don’t want to deal with the headache of canceling should there be no room for your pet.
Most airlines force you to pick up the phone and call to reserve your space, which might entail a long hold time. But Southwest scored some extra points in our rankings because it has many ways to reserve your pet’s spot, including via Facebook and Twitter.
Is flying stressful for birds?
Transporting Your Bird – Car and Air Travel At some time, you may be faced with the task of transporting your bird. You may be taking the bird to your veterinarian, moving to a new residence, or traveling a long distance. Birds can be great travelers. Most tolerate cars and airplanes very well, and some actually love the excitement of travel.
Can a bird stay still while flying?
Hovering Flight S ome birds, such as kestrels, remain motionless “wind hovering” above a point on the ground by flying into the wind at a speed equal to that of the wind, and other birds hover momentarily while foraging. Hummingbirds, on the other hand, are able to remain in the same place in still air as long as they wish – they are true hoverers.
A hovering hummer keeps its body at about a 45 degree angle to the ground and moves its wings in more or less a figure-eight pattern, with the “eight” lying on its side. Hummers have an extremely mobile shoulder joint, permitting them to twist the wing in such a way as to generate lift on both the backward and the forward strokes.
The front edge of the wing leads on both strokes, and on the backstroke it is the underside of the feathers that face upward, the shoulder rotation having, in effect, turned the wing upside down. In each stroke the bird is able to make use of some of the energy transferred into the motion of air on the previous sweep of its wings.
- For instance, on the forward stroke the airspeed of the wing is increased because it is traveling through air pushed toward the rear of the bird by the previous backstroke.
- The direction of thrust changes between the forward and backward strokes, so that they cancel each other out.
- Since the wings beat more than 20 times per second (sometimes as rapidly as 80 beats per second), inertia holds the bird’s body essentially stationary.
This system makes hummingbirds extremely maneuverable and permits them to hover while they extract nectar from flowers that might otherwise be inaccessible. But the hovering flight is quite expensive: about 30 percent of the total body weight of hummingbirds is invested in the breast muscles (which power the wings), whereas other strong-flying birds have about 20 percent, and weak fliers may have only about 15 percent.
Do pet birds poop while flying?
Do Birds Poop When They Fly? – Birds do poop while they are flying. This is because they simply do not have control over when they release their poop as they lack an anal sphincter like in humans. As a result, birds can release their poop at any time, even during flight. Personally, I have actually seen bird poop why they are flying! Why do I say so? Because I saw one in real life! Storytime: I was sitting by the beach one day in Gold Coast, Australia, soaking in the warm summer sun, when I saw one white string-like mass appear from a bird’s cloaca in front of me.
Does Qatar Airways allow birds?
Qatar Airways accepts domesticated dogs, cats, and birds as checked baggage, either on your flight or separately. When connecting to a Qatar Airways flight from another airline, pets must travel separately as cargo and will not be accepted as excess baggage.
Do pilots ever hit birds?
History – A Fw 190D-9 of 10./ JG 54 Grünherz, pilot ( Leutnant Theo Nibel), downed by a partridge which flew into the nose radiator near Brussels on 1 January 1945 The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) estimates bird strikes cost US aviation 400 million dollars annually and have resulted in over 200 worldwide deaths since 1988.
- In the United Kingdom, the Central Science Laboratory estimates that worldwide, birdstrikes cost airlines around US$1.2 billion annually.
- This includes repair cost and lost revenue while the damaged aircraft is out of service.
- There were 4,300 bird strikes listed by the United States Air Force and 5,900 by US civil aircraft in 2003.
The first reported bird strike was by Orville Wright in 1905. According to the Wright Brothers’ diaries, “Orville flew 4,751 meters in 4 minutes 45 seconds, four complete circles. Twice passed over the fence into Beard’s cornfield. Chased flock of birds for two rounds and killed one which fell on top of the upper surface and after a time fell off when swinging a sharp curve.” During the 1911 Paris to Madrid air race, French pilot Eugene Gilbert encountered an angry mother eagle over the Pyrenees,
- Gilbert, flying an open-cockpit Bleriot XI, was able to ward off the large bird by firing pistol shots at it but did not kill it.
- The first recorded bird strike fatality was reported in 1912 when aero-pioneer Cal Rodgers collided with a gull which became jammed in his aircraft control cables.
- He crashed at Long Beach, California, was pinned under the wreckage, and drowned.
During the 1952 edition of the Carrera Panamericana, eventual race winners Karl Kling and Hans Klenk suffered a bird strike incident when the Mercedes-Benz W194 was struck by a vulture in the windscreen. During a long right-hand bend in the opening stage taken at almost 200 km/h (120 mph), Kling failed to spot vultures sitting by the side of the road.
- When the vultures were scattered after hearing the virtually unsilenced W194 coming towards them, one vulture impacted through the windscreen on the passenger side.
- The impact was enough to briefly knock Klenk unconscious.
- Despite bleeding badly from facial injuries caused by the shattered windscreen, Klenk ordered Kling to maintain speed, and held on until a tire change almost 70 km (43 mi) later to clean himself and the car up.
For extra protection, eight vertical steel bars were bolted over the new windscreen. Kling and Klenk also discussed the species and size of the dead bird, agreeing that had had a minimum 115-centimetre (45 in) wingspan and weighed as much as five fattened geese. The same UH-60, as seen from the inside Alan Stacey ‘s fatal accident during the 1960 Belgian Grand Prix was caused when a bird hit him in the face on lap 25, causing his Lotus 18 – Climax to crash at the fast, sweeping right hand Burnenville curve. According to fellow driver Innes Ireland ‘s testimony in a mid-1980s edition of Road & Track magazine, Ireland stated that some spectators claimed that a bird had flown into Stacey’s face while he was approaching the curve, possibly knocking him unconscious, or even possibly killing him by breaking his neck or inflicting a fatal head injury, before the car crashed.
The greatest loss of life directly linked to a bird strike was on October 4, 1960, when a Lockheed L-188 Electra, flying from Boston as Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, flew through a flock of common starlings during take-off, damaging all four engines. The aircraft crashed into Boston harbor shortly after takeoff, with 62 fatalities out of 72 passengers.
Subsequently, minimum bird ingestion standards for jet engines were developed by the FAA. NASA astronaut Theodore Freeman was killed in 1964 when a goose shattered the plexiglass cockpit canopy of his Northrop T-38 Talon, Shards were ingested by the engines, leading to a fatal crash.
In November 12, 1975, Overseas National Airways Flight 032, the flight crew initiated a rejected takeoff after accelerating through a large flock of gulls at John F. Kennedy International Airport, resulting in a runway excursion. Of the 139 aircraft occupants, all survived, while the aircraft was destroyed by an intense post-crash fire.
An investigation was carried out on the #3 engine by General Electric Aircraft Engines (GEAE) in Ohio, Disassembly revealed that several engine fan blades were damaged and broken, causing blades to abrade the epoxy fan shroud; as the epoxy combusted, it ignited jet fuel leaking from a broken fuel line.
However, GEAE denied that the ingested birds were the underlying cause of the damage. Company investigators speculated that a tire or landing gear failure had occurred prior to the bird strikes, and that tire, wheel or landing gear debris ingested into the engine caused the fan blade damage and cut the fuel line.
To demonstrate that the General Electric CF6 engine was capable of withstanding a bird strike, the National Transportation Safety Board conducted a test with a sample engine. In 1988, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604 sucked pigeons into both engines during takeoff and then crashed, killing 35 passengers.
In 1995, a Dassault Falcon 20 crashed at a Paris airport during an emergency landing attempt after sucking lapwings into an engine, which caused an engine failure and a fire in the airplane’s fuselage ; all 10 people on board were killed. On September 22, 1995, a U.S. Air Force Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS aircraft (Callsign Yukla 27, serial number 77-0354), crashed shortly after takeoff from Elmendorf AFB,
The aircraft lost power in both port side engines after these engines ingested several Canada geese during takeoff. It crashed about two miles (3.2 km) from the runway, killing all 24 crew members on board. On March 30, 1999, during the inaugural run of the hypercoaster Apollo’s Chariot in Virginia, passenger Fabio Lanzoni suffered a bird strike by a goose and required three stitches to his face.
- The roller coaster has a height of over 200 feet and reaches speeds over 70 miles per hour.
- On November 28, 2004, the nose landing gear of KLM Flight 1673, a Boeing 737-400, struck a bird during takeoff at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol,
- The incident was reported to air traffic control, the landing gear was raised normally, and the flight continued normally to its destination.
Upon touching down at Barcelona International Airport, the aircraft started deviating to the left of the runway centreline. The crew applied right rudder, braking, and the nose wheel steering tiller but could not keep the aircraft on the runway. After it veered off the paved surface of the runway at about 100 knots, the jet went through an area of soft sand.
- The nose landing gear leg collapsed and the left main landing gear leg detached from its fittings shortly before the aircraft came to a stop perched over the edge of a drainage canal.
- All 140 passengers and six crew evacuated safely, but the aircraft itself had to be written off.
- The cause was discovered to be a broken cable in the nose wheel steering system caused by the bird collision.
Contributing to the snapped cable was the improper application of grease during routine maintenance which led to severe wear of the cable. In April 2007, a Thomsonfly Boeing 757 from Manchester Airport to Lanzarote Airport suffered a bird strike when at least one bird, supposedly a crow, was ingested by the starboard engine.
The plane landed safely back at Manchester Airport a while later. The incident was captured by two plane spotters on opposite sides of the airport, as well as the emergency calls picked up by a plane spotter’s radio. The Space Shuttle Discovery also hit a bird (a vulture) during the launch of STS-114 on July 26, 2005, although the collision occurred soon after lift-off and at low speed, with no obvious damage to the shuttle.
On November 10, 2008, Ryanair Flight 4102 from Frankfurt to Rome made an emergency landing at Ciampino Airport after multiple bird strikes caused both engines to fail. After touchdown, the left main landing gear collapsed, and the aircraft briefly veered off the runway.
- Passengers and crew were evacuated through the starboard emergency exits.
- On January 4, 2009, a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter hit a red-tailed hawk in Louisiana.
- The hawk hit the helicopter just above the windscreen.
- The impact forced the activation of the engine fire suppression control handles, retarding the throttles and causing the engines to lose power.
Eight of the nine people on board died in the subsequent crash; the survivor, a passenger, was seriously injured. On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 from LaGuardia Airport to Charlotte/Douglas International Airport ditched into the Hudson River after experiencing a loss of both turbines.
- It is suspected that the engine failure was caused by running into a flock of geese at an altitude of about 975 m (3,199 feet), shortly after takeoff.
- All 150 passengers and 5 crew members were safely evacuated after a successful water landing,
- On May 28, 2010, the NTSB published its final report into the accident.
On August 15, 2019, Ural Airlines Flight 178 from Moscow–Zhukovsky to Simferopol, Crimea, suffered a bird strike after taking off from Zhukovsky and crash landed in a cornfield 5 kilometers away from the airport.74 people were injured, all with minor injuries.
Do planes hit birds a lot?
How common are bird strikes? – With the abundance of both birds and aircraft present in the world today, bird strikes can be a not infrequent phenomenon. Indeed, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reports that, in the US alone, up to 16,000 of these incidents can occur every year.
- This is an almost tenfold increase compared to the 1,800 bird strikes that occurred in the US in 1990.
- Interestingly, it is thought that as many as 80% of bird strikes are not reported to the authorities, according to the US Department of Agriculture,
- While fatalities caused by bird strikes are low in terms of the aircraft’s occupants, the collisions will usually kill the bird(s).
That being said, even bird strikes that don’t result in a serious situation can be costly in terms of aircraft damage. Indeed, the Bird Strike Committee-USA/Canada found in 2001 that the worldwide cost of bird strike-related damage to commercial aircraft could be as high as $1.2 billion a year. Bird strikes cause billions of dollars worth of damage to airliners every year. Photo: Getty Images Stay informed: Sign up for our daily and weekly aviation news digests.
How do pilots avoid birds?
Preventive Strategies – Airports are responsible for bird control and should provide adequate wildlife control measures. If large birds or flocks of birds are reported or observed near the runway, the flight crew should consider:
Delaying the takeoff or landing when fuel permits. Advise the tower and wait for airport action before continuing. Take off or land on another runway that is free of bird activity, if available.
To prevent or reduce the consequences of a bird strike, the flight crew should:
Discuss bird strikes during takeoff and approach briefings when operating at airports with known or suspected bird activity. Be extremely vigilant if birds are reported on final approach. If birds are expected on final approach, plan additional landing distance to account for the possibility of no thrust reverser use if a bird strike occurs.
Can a plane crash from hitting a bird?
TOP 5: Deadliest bird-strike aviation disasters in history 640″> The damage to a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter after a crane flew into its windshield. (Photo credit U.S. Air Combat Command.) 737 forced to make emergency landing after hitting flock of birds in Abbotsford on Sept.10. The Wright brothers were the first men to fly a fixed-wing airplane in 1903.
Only two years later, Orville Wright would become the first man to have his plane collide mid-flight with a bird. Today, over a century later, planes are still at risk of being downed by their feathered counterparts in the sky. On Sept.10, a Boeing 737 leaving Abbotsford International Airport was forced to make an emergency landing after colliding with a flock of birds shortly after take off.
The pilots were able to land the plane safely without further incident. They were lucky. The pilots were able to land the plane safely without further incident. While incidents of bird-strikes are rare, they’re not as rare as one would hope.
The damage to an F-16 canopy after a bird-strike. (U.S. Air Force Command photo.) |
ul>Most would not assume a 2 kg pigeon could do much damage to a plane weighing over 40,000 kg, but birds pose serious risks to aircraft of all types – and the record shows it.The most frequent time collisions occur are during a plane’s takeoff due to the birds flying at a lower altitude.Around 90 per cent of these incidents happen around airports, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration estimates U.S. aviation suffers $400 million in damage annually from bird-strikes and over 200 deaths since 1988 can be attributed to them. Below is a list of the top five deadly bird-strike incidents: 5) Louisiana, 2009.
- A red-tailed hawk blasted through the windscreen of a Sikorsky S-76 helicopter.
- The impact of the bird shattered the windscreen, activated the engine fire suppression controls, delaying the helicopter’s throttles and forcing the engines to lose power.
- The subsequent crash left eight out of nine passengers dead.4) Paris, 1995.
During its takeoff, a Dassault Falcon 20 sucked in multiple lapwings through its engines which severed its fuel lines, causing one of its engines to fail. A fire ignited near the rear of the cabin and the pilots lost control while attempting to make an emergency landing.
- All 10 passengers were killed.3) Alaska, 1995. A U.S.
- Air Force Boeing E-3 Sentry ingested multiple Canadian Geese into both of its engines on the same wing during takeoff.
- The engines started to dump fuel and lost power which caused the plane to lose altitude.
- The plane crashed into a wooded area and exploded killing all 24 crew members.2) Bahir Dar, 1988.
A flock of speckled pigeons were pulled into the engines of a Boeing 737 passenger airplane as it took off from the runway. One of its engines lost thrust instantly. The other engine failed shortly after during an emergency landing. The 737 crash landed and caught fire, killing 35 of 98 passengers.1) Boston, 1960.
A Lockheed L-188 Electra flew through a large flock of 120 starlings shortly after takeoff causing all four engine to fail before it crashed into Boston harbour. The time from the takeoff to hitting the water was under a minute. Sixty-two out of the 72 passengers died in the greatest loss of life from a bird-strike on record.
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Do birds need passports to travel?
The pet passport is appropriate for individuals that intend to travel frequently from the United States with their pet bird, such as to and from Canada. Submit application form 3-200-64 and the processing fee to the Service. Only one bird may be listed on a pet passport; submit a separate application for each pet bird.
How much does it cost to bring a bird on a plane?
Information by Airline –
All prices are for one-way trips in US dollars. | |||
---|---|---|---|
Airline | One-Way Pet Fee | Birds Permitted? | Notes |
Aeroméxico | $40 – $180 | Yes, in baggage hold | Restrictions apply; chickens are permitted |
Air Canada | $170 – $518 | Yes, as cargo | Restrictions and blackout dates apply |
Alaska Airlines | $100 | Yes, in cabin and baggage hold | Kennel size restrictions apply; noisy birds are prohibited |
Allegiant Air | $100 | No | Dogs and cats in cabin only, in lower 48 states |
American Airlines | $125 – $350 | Yes, as cargo on most flights | Weather, airplane type and destination restrictions apply |
Delta Air Lines | $125 – $200 | Yes, in baggage hold or as air cargo | Domestic (US) flights only; weather restrictions apply |
Hawaiian Airlines | $60 – $225 | Yes, in baggage hold | Quarantines, blackout dates and destination, weight and temperature restrictions apply |
JetBlue | $100 | No | Small dogs and cats in cabin only |
Southwest Airlines | $95 | No | Dogs and cats in cabin only; domestic (US) flights only |
United Airlines | $125 | Yes, in cabin or as air cargo | Domestic (US) flights only for in-cabin travel; stopover fee applies for layovers of 4 hours or more. No in-cabin pets to or from Hawaii. |
How much does it cost to fly a bird on a plane?
Information by Airline –
All prices are for one-way trips in US dollars. | |||
---|---|---|---|
Airline | One-Way Pet Fee | Birds Permitted? | Notes |
Aeroméxico | $40 – $180 | Yes, in baggage hold | Restrictions apply; chickens are permitted |
Air Canada | $170 – $518 | Yes, as cargo | Restrictions and blackout dates apply |
Alaska Airlines | $100 | Yes, in cabin and baggage hold | Kennel size restrictions apply; noisy birds are prohibited |
Allegiant Air | $100 | No | Dogs and cats in cabin only, in lower 48 states |
American Airlines | $125 – $350 | Yes, as cargo on most flights | Weather, airplane type and destination restrictions apply |
Delta Air Lines | $125 – $200 | Yes, in baggage hold or as air cargo | Domestic (US) flights only; weather restrictions apply |
Hawaiian Airlines | $60 – $225 | Yes, in baggage hold | Quarantines, blackout dates and destination, weight and temperature restrictions apply |
JetBlue | $100 | No | Small dogs and cats in cabin only |
Southwest Airlines | $95 | No | Dogs and cats in cabin only; domestic (US) flights only |
United Airlines | $125 | Yes, in cabin or as air cargo | Domestic (US) flights only for in-cabin travel; stopover fee applies for layovers of 4 hours or more. No in-cabin pets to or from Hawaii. |
What happens if a bird gets on a plane?
Size of aircraft matters – When a bird ꟷ even a small one ꟷ hits a plane, you would hear a bang sound. If a small bird is sucked into an engine, it usually goes through the core of the engine and reaches air conditioning systems. People onboard might smell an odor similar to roasted chicken.
- If a bird is flying very close to the windows, you might also assume that some of them might hit either wings, engines, or the stabilizer of the aircraft.
- In such a case, the aircraft crew tells air traffic controllers that they might have a bird strike and there might be a need for the so-called bird strike inspection upon the arrival.
If the plane crew thinks that there might have been a bird strike, first they would check the engine parameters to make sure that the engines are not fluctuating. By Mike Focus The damage from the bird strike depends on several factors. First of all, it is the size of the aircraft. Smaller planes and propeller-driven machines are more likely to sustain structural damage, such as penetration of windscreen, control surfaces, or empennage.
- The windscreen penetration could also potentially injure pilots or other people on board, which may lead to loss of control and have disastrous consequences.
- Large aircraft usually sustain engine malfunction or even complete failure if a bird flies into them.
- More than ⅓ of bird strikes involve engines.
If a bird is sucked into an engine, it may lead to severe damage to the first compressor rotor (fan blades). This can result in severe vibration, loud bangs, and a total loss of engine thrust. Bird strikes can inflict damage to not only on the engines of a large aircraft but to parts, including wings, nose, windshield, and fuselage, too.
During landing or takeoff, bird strikes can cause damage to extended landing gear, which can lead to sufficient malfunction of brakes or nose gear steering systems. In turn, it can result in directional control problems during a subsequent landing roll. In rare cases, aircraft collision with birds can occur at higher altitudes.
This may lead to structural damage to the aircraft hull and rapid depressurization. It is also important how many birds impact with the aircraft. For instance, ducks, geese, and swans account only for 2% of bird strike incidents. However, since these birds tend to fly in massive flocks, they can cause more significant damage to the plane.
What happens if a bird flies on a plane?
Vehicle design – Most large commercial jet engines include design features that ensure they can shut-down after “ingesting” a bird weighing up to 1.8 kg (4.0 lb). The engine does not have to survive the ingestion, just be safely shut down. This is a ‘stand-alone’ requirement, i.e.
- The engine, not the aircraft, must pass the test.
- Multiple strikes (from hitting a bird flock ) on twin-engine jet aircraft are very serious events because they can disable multiple aircraft systems, requiring emergency action to land the aircraft, as in the January 15, 2009 forced ditching of US Airways Flight 1549,
As required by EASA ‘s CS 25.631 or FAA ‘s 14 CFR § 25.571(e)(1) post Amdt 25-96, modern jet aircraft structures are designed for continued safe flight and landing after withstanding one 4 lb (1.8 kg) bird impact anywhere on the aircraft (including the flight deck windshields).
Per FAA ‘s 14 CFR § 25.631, they must also withstand one 8 lb (3.6 kg) bird impact anywhere on the empennage (tail). Flight deck windows on jet aircraft must be able to withstand one 4 lb (1.8 kg) bird collision without yielding or spalling, For the empennage (tail), this is usually accomplished by designing redundant structures and protected locations for control system elements or protective devices such as splitter plates or energy-absorbing material.
Often, one aircraft manufacturer will use similar protective design features for all of its aircraft models, to minimize testing and certification costs. Transport Canada also pays particular attention to these requirements during aircraft certification, considering there are many documented cases in North America of bird strikes with large Canada geese which weigh approximately 8 lb (3.6 kg) on average, and can sometimes weigh as much as 14.3 lb (6.5 kg).
- At first, bird strike testing by manufacturers involved firing a bird carcass from a gas cannon and sabot system into the tested unit.
- The carcass was soon replaced with suitable density blocks, often gelatin, to ease testing.
- Current certification efforts are mainly conducted with limited testing, supported by more detailed analysis using computer simulation, although final testing usually involves some physical experiments (see birdstrike simulator ).
Based on US NTSB recommendation following the 2009 US Airways Flight 1549, the EASA in 2017, followed a year after by the FAA, proposed that engines should sustain a bird strike not only on takeoff and climb where turbofans are turning at their fastest, but also in descent when they turn more slowly; new regulations could apply for the Boeing NMA engines.
Can a bird stay still while flying?
Hovering Flight S ome birds, such as kestrels, remain motionless “wind hovering” above a point on the ground by flying into the wind at a speed equal to that of the wind, and other birds hover momentarily while foraging. Hummingbirds, on the other hand, are able to remain in the same place in still air as long as they wish – they are true hoverers.
- A hovering hummer keeps its body at about a 45 degree angle to the ground and moves its wings in more or less a figure-eight pattern, with the “eight” lying on its side.
- Hummers have an extremely mobile shoulder joint, permitting them to twist the wing in such a way as to generate lift on both the backward and the forward strokes.
The front edge of the wing leads on both strokes, and on the backstroke it is the underside of the feathers that face upward, the shoulder rotation having, in effect, turned the wing upside down. In each stroke the bird is able to make use of some of the energy transferred into the motion of air on the previous sweep of its wings.
For instance, on the forward stroke the airspeed of the wing is increased because it is traveling through air pushed toward the rear of the bird by the previous backstroke. The direction of thrust changes between the forward and backward strokes, so that they cancel each other out. Since the wings beat more than 20 times per second (sometimes as rapidly as 80 beats per second), inertia holds the bird’s body essentially stationary.
This system makes hummingbirds extremely maneuverable and permits them to hover while they extract nectar from flowers that might otherwise be inaccessible. But the hovering flight is quite expensive: about 30 percent of the total body weight of hummingbirds is invested in the breast muscles (which power the wings), whereas other strong-flying birds have about 20 percent, and weak fliers may have only about 15 percent.