Bird strikes are a known airplane hazard – and more common than you think

Passengers on board a flight out of Dunedin were blissfully unaware a situation was unfolding. During that trip, a bird had been sucked into an engine, with an aviation source confirming that a recent bird strike prompted Air New Zealand to strip and rebuild the engine. The airline did not comment on the incident, but David Morgan, Air New Zealand’s chief operational integrity and safety officer, said in a statement that "bird strikes are not uncommon". "Aircraft are designed with this in mind and our pilots are trained for these scenarios. When a bird strike is suspected, our engineering team will complete a full aircraft inspection to ensure it is safe to continue service,’’ he said. It comes as the Civil Aviation Authority release to Stuff under the Official Information Act preliminary data showing bird strikes at the country’s aerodromes and airports over the past five years. While airlines had to deal with the potentially dangerous consequences, the management of wildlife – including birds – was the primary responsibility of airports. Last month there were 30 reported bird strikes across New Zealand, the lowest monthly total since October 2021 (27). That data shows reported strikes reducing over that period, with monthly averages going from 53 in 2018 to 44 in 2022. Unsurprisingly, international airports account for the largest number of reported bird strikes. So far this year there had been 26 bird strikes recorded at Auckland Airport, Christchurch International Airport (22), Wellington International Airport (18) and Queenstown (10).<br/>