Analysis of Bird Strikes Reported by European Airlines 1976-1980

Birdstrikes reported world-wide between 1976 and 1980 by European Airlines from 14 countries have been analysed. The analysis of over 7500 strikes includes the annual strike rate for each country, for aircraft types and airports, all based on aircraft movements. It also covers bird species and weights, part of aircraft struck, effect of strike, and cost. The paper shows that gulls were involved in over 40 of the incidents where the type of bird was known, and that only 1 of bird strikes involves birds of over 4 lbs. The major effects have been damage to over 330 engines and the loss of a Boeing 737 aircraft value 4.5 million. Engineering costs are estimated to be about 16 million US dollars excluding the Boeing 737.