Bird Collisions Are a Cause of Many Global Air Accidents: Expert
AFP/APP
Paris: The deadly Boeing plane crash in South Korea, which claimed the lives of 179 people, was initially attributed to a bird collision, highlighting how such incidents frequently contribute to aviation accidents worldwide.
Officials first identified a bird strike as a probable cause of Sunday’s crash of the Jeju Air plane. However, on Monday, Seoul announced a special inspection of all 101 Boeing 737-800s operating in South Korea.
Regardless of Sunday’s crash, aviation authorities globally have reported a rise in bird collision incidents in line with increased air traffic. In 2022, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recorded 17,190 bird strikes in the United States—a 10% increase from 2021 due to a post-COVID-19 surge in air traffic.
From 1990 to 2023, collisions between wildlife and civil aircraft in the United States totaled 291,600, according to FAA data.
In mainland France, the Civil Aviation Authority records about 600 bird strikes annually during commercial flights, though serious incidents constitute less than 8% of cases—a declining trend.
Since 1988, bird strikes have destroyed 250 aircraft worldwide and caused 262 fatalities, according to the Australian Aviation Wildlife Hazard Group. The group also estimates annual damages from bird collisions exceed $1.2 billion.
Such collisions typically occur during takeoff and landing at low altitudes (0–50 feet), though high-altitude incidents, while rarer, are not impossible. In 2021, a tourist plane in Seine-et-Marne, France, crashed after hitting a cormorant mid-flight.
One of the most notable bird strike cases occurred in January 2009 when a US Airways Airbus A320 pilot successfully landed on the Hudson River in New York after colliding with a flock of geese, saving all 155 passengers and crew.
