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Bird Strike Summary Report - 1994

1994 Summary Report - Bird Strikes to Canadian Aircraft
Section 1 - Introduction

1994 Highlights
  • A total of 655 bird strikes were reported to Airports Group in 1994. Of these, 623 occurred at Canadian sites, 23 occurred outside Canada, and 9 were of unknown origin.
  • Of the strikes reported, 35% could not identify the bird involved. The type of bird most often hit were gulls (26%), followed by sparrows (6%), swallows (5%), and snow buntings(4%).
  • The month with the highest number of strikes was August (20%); September had the second highest number of strikes (15%). The time of day with the most incidents was between 9 A.M. and 10 A.M.
  • Fifty-eight percent of the incidents where the height of the strike was recorded occurred below 100 feet AGL. Six percent of the incidents occurred at heights above 1,500 feet AGL; twenty-three percent of the incidents had no report of strike height.
  • The aircraft most involved in a strike, irrespective of the number of aircraft movements, were Dash-8's (8%), B-737's (7%), A320's (5%) and DC-9's (5%).
  • The parts of the aircraft most often struck were the wing, the fuselage, and the nose.
  • The parts of the aircraft damaged the most were the pitot (167%), engines (24%), the radome (17%) and the wings (16%).
  • The type of engine most often damaged were turbofans (6 incidents).

Note:

This report is based on bird strike data supplied to Airports Group by the various sources listed on the following page, and therefore reflects the nature of the information furnished as well as the interpretation provided by the individuals that prepared the report.

The increase in reported strikes at Vancouver International Aiport for 1994 is due in part to changes in reporting procedures at the airport.

Date modified:
2010-05-03