Golden opportunity for someone.

[Fred314X]

Here's my question: suppose they determine beyond question what kind of bird it was (when these things happen around New York City, geese are often the culprits, although I wasn't paid millions of dollars to make that observation). OK--now what are they going to do about it? Launch a program of extermination aimed at geese? Isn't that going to start a needless war with "animal rights activists?" You know they aren't going to change any flight patterns, because that would be quite a mess, given the amount of air traffic coming through New York.

So we'll know what kind of bird brought down a modern airplane. Big deal. I can't imagine why I thought there might be better ways to spend money.

[scuba steve]

Originally Posted by muleskinner

I have never understood why a screen of some type could not be designed to avoid these situations.Since I am nowhere NEAR an aeronautical engineer (and probably didn't even spell it right),I'm sure there are icing issues or something that prevents this from being put on at the intake side of the engine.Just curious tho'.

A screen big enough to withstand impact at several hundred miles per hour would be big enough to greatly inhibit air intake to the engines. It would also probably produce tons of noise.

In the aerospace industry we do tons of birs strike tests to all sorts of aircraft parts which result in redesigns to fix flaws. Having a couple of real-world data points really helps, especially if there were two engine failures caused by hitting birds of a size they were supposed to withstand.

[ovcatto]

Originally Posted by Fred314X

So we'll know what kind of bird brought down a modern airplane. Big deal. I can't imagine why I thought there might be better ways to spend money.

Hope you remember the above post when some engineer figures out a solution based upon the research that will keep the plane carrying your family in the air after a bird strike.

[Swampmonster]

Originally Posted by scuba steve

A screen big enough to withstand impact at several hundred miles per hour would be big enough to greatly inhibit air intake to the engines. It would also probably produce tons of noise.

In the aerospace industry we do tons of birs strike tests to all sorts of aircraft parts which result in redesigns to fix flaws. Having a couple of real-world data points really helps, especially if there were two engine failures caused by hitting birds of a size they were supposed to withstand.

Thanks for the answer Steve

It seems to me that this problem has been greatly reduced over time as I do remember this happening a lot more when I was a kid,or maybe they just reported it more in the media.Have designs improved that much?

[scuba steve]

Yes. Turbine blades on jet engines are made from a single crystal (no grain boundries) and are less prone to failure, but they've also gotten a whole lot better at containing a thrown blade so that when something happens it doesn't take out other things in the area. I'm talking about hydraulic and fuel lines - things you need to stay in the air while the remaining engine gets you somewhere safe so you can land. Engines in general have gotten more powerful so a plane with only one is a lot more capable of making it to an airport to land than in years past.