Bird strike menace in aviation is universal. It has no respect for airspace boundaries, airport locations, phase of flight, aircraft type, season of the year or aircrew’s experience, writes WOLE SHADARE
It is on record that for the past quarter of a century, airlines suffered from the phenomenon of bird’s strike, which is yet to be resolved. Operators lost millions of dollars over the years.

Burden to operators
An airline operator with one of Nigeria’s leading airlines told New Telegraph that a simple bird strike can cause airline a loss in revenue of as much as N100 million a month when the aircraft remains on ground. The Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulation 2006/2009 part 18 offences – paragraph 23 (1), states that an aerodrome operator can be liable to a fine of N2.5 million in case of a bird strike. In a position paper by Air Operators Association of Nigeria (AOAN) on the new regulations of the Nigeria Civil Aviation (NIG.CARs) to the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), chairman of the group, Captain Mohammed Joji, pleaded with the NCAA to calculate the total amount due to airlines for every bird strike for the past 25 years. According to Joji, this amount can then be deducted from what the airlines owe the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

Not a few believe that the phenomenon of bird strikes has caused the sector billions globally. T he bird strike phenomenon seems to be making a serious impact on world aviation services. According to the World Bird Strike Association there are 607 accidents caused in such a manner every year in Japan with over 150 strikes causing accidents at Kennedy International Airport each year. In China, 170 bird impact accidents were reported in civil aviation airports between 1991 and 1997.

Bird strikes in Nigeria
A Dana Air MD-83 made an emergency landing in 2010 after a bird strike at Lagos Airport. The aircraft, which was on a flight to Abuja, lost one engine and returned to Lagos Airport, where it landed safely. This is one of the over 155-recorded bird strike cases that involved Nigerian airlines between January 2009 and June 2011. There were 70 reported cases in 2009, 53 in 2010 and 22 in 2011. From 2011 to 2015, over 60 cases have been reported. Aviation industry worldwide has been reported to lose $1.6 billion to bird strikes. The situation has led to the airlines incurring huge costs on repairs of their damaged aircraft.

Experts’ views
Aviation analyst, Mohammed Tukur, stressed that apart from causing a lot of threat to the safety of passengers aboard aircraft, the menace of bird strikes could also result in huge operating cost for the airlines, flight delays and flight cancellations, amongst other numerous hazards to the aviation industry.
The cost in time and repairs and the inconvenience to travellers is not just the unpleasant end, but is also important consideration in insurance coverage. T he damage caused by bird strikes and the potential implication for coverage and insurance premiums if our skies and airports are considered particularly prone to bird strikes, need special attention.

He explained that there are several reasons why birds may be around the airport in which case, the propensity for a strike to occur is higher, especially in our environment. Some of them really revolve around the nature and extensive infrastructure deficit that continues to plague our continent. Airport drainages, vicinity waste management and farm land, among others. Tukur said as a regulatory authority, the NCAA anxiously looks forward to a significant reduction in these bird strikes.

Aeronautical engineer and supervisor with the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain John Obakpolor, expressed fear recently that bird strike might give rise to another air crash in this country if concerted efforts are not made to significantly curb it. He noted that it would rubbish all the efforts already made by the regulatory body to ensure air safety. “If you look at FAAN, I am always on my knees here praying to God that nothing (no air crash) happens. We have to be very careful that it does not happen any day. And that is bird strike. We are not talking about bird strike. FAAN has not done much to mitigate bird strike.”

Obakpolor said that airlines have to cough out huge sums of money to repair their aircraft when they suffer bird strike, noting that old engines are susceptible to being damaged by bird strike. “These airlines are all groaning under extra expenditure.

Any old engine that suffers bird strike must have to be brought down and sent to the factory for retro fitting. This will cost not less than $350,000 (N52 million). He observed that Arik Air has suffered most from bird strike because it is the airline that has the highest number of aircraft, adding that airlines have become frustrated with the inability of FAAN to drastically reduce bird strike at airports, which prompted some of them to take the agency to court.

Cost implication
A typical bird strike could affect the aircraft’s nose; that is the cone where the radar is. This costs about $400,000; it could destroy the engine, where you have the turbine blade, the thrust and the boroscope. It could affect the windscreen, which is $10,000. It can affect the airframe and that could take the aircraft out for two weeks. Each time there is bird strike the airline loses about $260,000 of revenue and on cost of repairs.
An operator who pleaded anonymity disclosed that his airline has had no less than 17 bird strikes in the last one year, adding that Air Safety Reports (ASRs) is required by law to be raised anytime there is a bird strike.

As for costs, a repair could be from $20,000 absolute minimum (this is approximately the cost of shipping one way) to a maximum of $3.5 million if the engine was destroyed. Most likely it will be somewhere between these two figures typically between $100,000 and $1.1 million. This is due to the fact that an engine is perfectly serviceable on wing but once opened up it is inspected to workshop standards, which are more stringent than in service levels.

He explained that this is done in accordance to maintenance standards whenever the engine is opened for inspection, and whenever a bird strikes it prompts the opening of the aircraft engine. He noted that this is not necessarily the cause of the bird strike but there would have been no need for the inspection without the bird strike, stressing that these figures are for the B737 only; the E-Jet figures can be doubled.

Engine lease/cost
The operator also disclosed that in addition to this is the cost of a lease engine or the additional investment burden of buying a spare engine. “A lease engine for a Boeing B737 is around $3.2 million, the E-Jet engine is $7 million. A lease engine for a B737 is usually for a minimum of 90 days (workshop turnaround is usually 60 days plus shipping) and will cost $1 million plus.” He also said: “Engines are not the only part of the aircraft to suffer, the airframe fuselage is also impacted whenever there is damage.

We have had three incidents within the last six months on the airframe. The last incident caused us to pay $7,000 for rectification and this does not account for the loss of revenue, the only reason the cost was so low was that our engineers managed to carry out a repair, which was approved by Embraer. If this had not been possible the repair costs would have been over $150,000; again without loss of revenue accounted for.”

Conclusion
Bird strikes have always been a part of aviation. While they usually cause no more than minor damage, they can pose a threat to air safety. By being aware of the ongoing possibility of bird strikes and by following recommended procedures, flight crews can reduce the possibility and effects of a bird strike.