Are You Prepared for Birdstrike Season?

This is the time of the year where the birdstrike risk to rotorcraft is at its highest. 

To help you prepare, ESPN-R are launching a campaign to raise awareness across the community and to provide a summary of five key resources on mitigating birdstrikes in one place.

Pilots Who Ask Why article The Threats of Bird Strikes and How to Mitigate Them, 2024

The first great resource is The Threats of Bird Strikes and How to Mitigate Them from Pilots Who Ask Why.

                             Mitigating Bird Strikes (Credit: Pilots Who Ask Why)

From broken windscreens, shattered helmet visors, holes in rotor blades, to complete loss of engine power and having to ditch into the Hudson, bird strikes have been a threat since the start of aviation.The statistics show trends that suggest a significant increase in amount of bird strikes as time goes on. There is a lot of misinformation on bird behaviour and bird strikes – this article debunks the 8 most common bird strike myths.The Pilot's Who Ask Why article addresses the following:

• What are bird strikes and how common are they?
• 8 common myths about bird strikes (Listed below)

1. Birds don’t fly at night2. Birds don’t fly in poor visibility3. Landing lights repel birds4. Bright aircraft colours protect against bird strikes5. Birds will actively take avoiding action6. Birds only fly at lower altitudes7. Birds are easily spotted and avoided8. Bird strikes are a nuisance, but not a safety concern

The key questions that the article encourages us to think about are: 

• What are the threats of bird strikes?
• What factors can cause bird strikes?
• How to mitigate the threats of bird strikes? 

                             How to mitigate bird strikes (Credit: Pilots Who Ask Why)

It also looks at:

• The signs of a bird strike
• What to do if you suspect a bird strike
• Information on Birdstrike accidents

EASA article Rotorcraft Birdstrikes, 2021

Rotorcraft Birdstrikes | EASA Community.

While bird strikes are not a new risk to helicopters, the reduction in flying activity in some areas of aviation have considerably increased the number of birds in certain locations where helicopters regularly operate. 

This article is based on and expands the EASA SIB Rotorcraft Operational Safety Procedures to Mitigate Bird Strike Risk of April 2021, and brings together a number of resources from other sources to help helicopter operators and others like heliport operators, understand and manage the risks involved. 

It is primarily intended for operators, safety managers, pilots including General Aviation pilots, instructors, engineers and inspectors, and could be of interest for other personnel. 

             Picture from the video Bird Strike Goose Crashes Through Airplane Windshield                                                              (Credit: Keith Baird) 

The article addresses:

• Birdstrike consequences
• Avoidance and mitigation measures

Bird flocks represent the highest risk of bird strike, both regarding probability of encounter and severity of damage: 

                        Picture from the video How do starling birds flock (Credit: BBC) 

It also covers: 

• In-flight procedures and technology
• Example of land development and likely large bird types
• References to other sources 

EASA article and video Importance of Wearing Helmet, 2022

Article EASA Video Importance of Wearing Helmet | EASA Community.

Video The Importance of Wearing Helmets when Flying a Helicopter. 

                  EASA video The importance of wearing helmets when flying a Helicopter

A helmet protects against various risks, including birdstrike. 

Check what happened to Mathieu Vandenavenne, Safety for Flight, in this EASA video.

Don't leave it to chance, wear a helmet with visor down!

Wearing a helmet shouldn't scare passengers but rather comfort them; it's a sign that the pilot and the operator care about safety. 

Bruce Webb  ESPN-R video Wearing Helmet, 2021

What if the bird was... a drone?

Bruce Webb ESPN-R video The Importance of Wearing a Helmet.

EASA article ESPN-R Video Wearing Helmet by Bruce Webb | EASA Community.

Wearing helmet protects against birdstrike and offers some degree of protection against collisions with small drones.  

Imagine the outcome on an in-flight collision with a bird or a small drone if the pilot were not wearing a helmet with the visor extended.

Fortunately, many helicopter flight crew members are already wearing helmets.

                              Bruce Webb video The Importance of Wearing a Helmet

And while there are no civil regulations which require to wear helmet, they are certainly an important piece of personal protective equipment, even more as there aren’t requirements for light helicopters specifying windscreen strength or resistance against birdstrike.Drones have a much greater potential for aircraft damage than the flesh and the bone of a bird. 

Don't leave it to chance, wear a helmet with visor down! 

Safety Lessons from a Fatal Helicopter Birdstrike, Aerossurance, 2017

Safety Lessons from a Fatal Helicopter Bird Strike: PHI Sikorsky S-76C++ - Aerossurance.

This Aerossurance article looks at at a fatal accident that happened to S-76C++ N748P of PHI on January 4, 2009 that highlights a range of certification, modification, crew alerting, training and emergency response lessons.

The aircraft took off from a heliport in Louisiana, destined for a Shell offshore installation in the Gulf of Mexico with two crew and 7 passengers aboard. 

The helicopter “established level cruise flight at 850 feet mean sea level and 135 knots indicated air speed” according to the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation report and about 7 minutes after departure, the cockpit voice recorder recorded a loud bang, followed by sounds consistent with rushing wind and a power reduction on both engines and a decay of main rotor revolutions per minute. Due to the sudden power loss, the helicopter departed controlled flight crashed in marshland just 12 miles from the heliport. 

            Reconstruction of the Canopy and STC Acrylic Windshield of S-76C++ N748P 

                                                             (Credit: NTSB)

Laboratory analysis identified the remains as coming from a female red-tailed hawk. 

                                   Red Tail Hawk (Credit: Snowmanradio CC BY 2.0)

Interestingly, NTSB quoted a 2006 study by Dolbeer, Wright and Cleary, (Bird Strikes to Civil Helicopters in the United States, 1990-2005), which concluded that:

1. Helicopters were significantly more likely to be damaged by bird strikes than airplanes.
2. Windshields on helicopters were more frequently struck and damaged than windshields on airplanes, and
3. Helicopter bird strikes were also more likely to lead to injuries to crew or passengers.

Read the article for the full story.

References

EASA article Rotorcraft Birdstrikes | EASA Community

EASA SIB Rotorcraft Operational Safety Procedures to Mitigate Bird Strike Risk

The Pilots Who Ask Why article The Threats of Bird Strikes and How to Mitigate Them,

EASA video The Importance of Wearing Helmets when Flying a Helicopter

EASA article EASA Video Importance of Wearing Helmet | EASA Community

Bruce Webb ESPN-R video The Importance of Wearing a Helmet

EASA article ESPN-R Video Wearing Helmet by Bruce Webb | EASA Community, 

Aerossurance article Safety Lessons from a Fatal Helicopter Bird Strike: PHI Sikorsky S-76C++ - Aerossurance