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The ATSB has launched a new safety database on wildlife strikes to help pilots manage the risk.
The interactive tool details every wildlife strike reported to the transport safety watchdog over the past 10 years, and will be more regularly updated than its previous periodic reports.
“Wildlife strikes – particularly birdstrikes – represent around a third of the 5,500 aviation occurrences reported to the ATSB each year,” ATSB chief commissioner Angus Mitchell said.
“While the vast majority of these do not result in any injury to flight crew or passengers, they are a potential safety risk, and present a significant economic cost for aerodrome and aircraft operators.
“This dashboard aims to provide information back to pilots, aerodrome and aircraft operators, regulators, and other industry participants, to assist with understanding and managing the hazards associated with wildlife strikes.”
The ATSB noted several recent wildlife strike incidents on Australian-registered planes, including a harrowing incident on board a Virgin flight from Queenstown to Melbourne last month that forced the 737-800 to divert to Invercargill, believed to be the result of a birdstrike.
“While these incidents were safely managed by crews, and fortunately did not result in any injuries to those on board the aircraft, they serve as recent demonstrations of the hazards wildlife strikes pose to the aviation industry,” Mitchell said.
Across all sectors of aviation, 24,106 birdstrikes were reported to ATSB in the 15 years between 2008 and 2022, including one that brought down a Bell 206-L1 near Sydney in July 2022 and another that caused the crash of an Air Tractor near Chinchilla, Queensland, in September of that year.
“These two accidents demonstrate the risk wildlife strikes can pose to light aircraft during private and commercial operations,” Mitchell said.
Following the Virgin Australia incident, a statement from Queenstown Airport noted that bird activity varies based on season and migratory patterns.
“The primary species of concern at Queenstown are oystercatchers and plovers, along with smaller birds such as finches, starlings, and sparrows,” the statement read.
“The Airport Emergency Service (AES) team is responsible for ongoing wildlife hazard management at ZQN and monitors bird activity around the airport closely.
“A range of measures are used to deter birds from settling on the airfield and surrounds. These include mowing grass to keep it low and less attractive to birds, spraying to reduce food sources, and use gas cannons, acoustic machines, lasers, and pyrotechnics to scare birds away.
“We also work with our neighbours to reduce the likelihood of birds settling nearby.”
