Why do birds destroy jet engines?

That impact displaces the blade such that it strikes another blade and a cascade can occur, resulting in engine failure. A 12-pound Canada goose striking an aircraft going 150 mph at lift-off generates the force of a 1,000-pound weight dropped from a height of 10 feet, according to Bird Strike Committee USA.



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Birds don't fly at night. Birds don't fly in poor visibility, such as in clouds, fog, rain, or snow. Birds can detect airplane landing lights and weather radar and avoid the airplane. Airplane colors and jet engine spinner markings help to repel birds.

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A jet engine can sometimes survive a bird strike. And sometimes if it hits dozens of birds, or a really big bird, or if the bird gets stuck somewhere unfortunate, then the engine will break and stop producing thrust, or start vibrating, or compressor stall, or catch on fire or explode or whatever.

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Which airports have the most wildlife strikes? Denver International Airport opened in 1995 in the continent's central flyway for migrating birds, according to online news site Denverite. The airport has the most reports in the wildlife strike database with just over 9,000 through the end of 2022.

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Pilots are trained to handle all sorts of nerve-racking situations, but that doesn't mean that they don't get scared—especially in these real instances, told by the pilots who experienced them, of serious in-flight fear.

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Pilots are made aware of bird activity via NOTAMs, air traffic control, other pilots, and their own eyesight. Rerouting, waiting, or rapidly climbing/descending through known bird activity areas are all ways pilots try to avoid birds. Large birds have brought down aircraft and a hit is known as a Birdstrike.

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