US Airways flight 1549 presents a single most illustrious example of the kind of damage a bird strike can cause and piloting-skill required to be able to bring out everyone safely from a disastrous situation.
Birds are intelligent species which have natural instinct to survive and avoid a collision while in the air or on the ground. With their sharp vision and quick decisive ability, they are able to avert not only other avian traffic but also human-made obstacle and flying objects.
Differences between drone and birds.
1. For the same volume, birds are lighter. In other words, drones are more densely packed and will cause more damage on impact to aircraft.
2. Drones are made of fragile structure which will disintegrate into many smaller objects after the collision with aircraft.
3. The birds are more flexible and less dense and hence likely to retain their integrity after the impact and will most likely get deflected. This would lead to lesser damage to aircraft.
4. Drones have moving parts that are traveling at a much higher speed. The damage caused during impact is directly proportional to the square of relative speed. The relative speed is likely to be very high in the case of drones and hence will cause more damage to aircraft.
5. Most bird or drone strikes occur during the take-off and landing phase of aircraft. Birds with strong survival instincts are able to spot the approaching aircraft and initiate avoiding action which further minimizes the damage they are likely to cause.
6. Large commercial jet engines include design features that ensure they can shut down after ingesting a bird weighing up to 1.8 Kg. Engine shut down is a serious event because it leads to the failure of multiple aircraft systems requiring emergency action by the flight crew. In addition, commercial aircraft structures are certified to withstand bird collision.
Safety of commercial aircraft engine and structures is not certified against drone strikes and its effect.
The drone strike is likely to cause more severe damage causing fire or explosion too. As drones continue to explode in popularity, there have been more and more stories of operators near misses.with aircraft.
Look out & Be safe.
Happy landing.
