crewmembers. The absolute best pro- tection one can have is a helmet and glare-shield. This protects the eyes and may also keep the pilot from being knocked unconscious or receiv- ing a serious head injury if struck in the head by a bird coming into the cockpit. At the very least, pilots should invest in high quality protec- tive sunglasses with military grade, polycarbonate lenses for eye protec- tion.
To learn more about the behavior
of birds it is necessary to report every bird strike, even if only a small bird
was involved and the damage to the aircraft was minor. Many bird strike associations offer online forms for an easy and fast way to report a strike. Many of the organizations have
experts who can categorize a bird by its remains, even if it is only one feath- er. In order to support these groups, send them a sample of feathers if you find one on your helicopter after a strike and document the damage with photographs. Take for example this resource
provided by the US Federal Aviation Administration:
http://wildlife-mitigation.tc.faa.gov/wildlife/default.aspx Editor’s Comments: In recent years, I have had the experience of working in a
coastal flight department that had two bird strikes. Both caused significant aircraft damage, as well as injured people inside the helicopter. Both incidents also involved single pilot operations of the Agusta A109E and soaring birds. Since both involved two different pilots, we felt it had little to do with pilot technique and more to do with our operational profile. I served on the team that evaluated our profile and wrote the SOP that changed how we flew our helicopter. Here is a brief summary of our analysis.
Facts Wildlife studies showed us that over land, 90% of all birds fly at or below 1500’ agl.
Over ocean, nearly the same percentage of sea birds, like gulls and pelicans, will remain within 1 mile of the shoreline.
Speed of Helicopter In our case speed was important for two reasons. First, there is a difference in reac
tion time afforded (for bird and pilot) between a B206 cruising at 110 kts and an A109E going 140kts. Faster aircraft means higher risk of striking a bird. Secondly, knowing what speed the aircraft windscreen is bird strike tested to, can help in shaping policy. In our case, we were told by the OEM, that our windscreen was tested at 120 knots with a bird carcass up to X lbs. The downside is that the Agusta can go much faster than 120 kts and the buzzards in Florida are much bigger than the test dummy bird used by the OEM in testing.
Altitudes & Route Aside from a diligent pilot scan, altitude selection is the single largest factor in
reducing bird encounters. Bottom line: if over land, fly enroute legs above 1500’ agl. Additional benefits may include cooler air and less noise for the purpose of flying neighborly. When following a shoreline, do so greater than one mile offshore. Also, when choosing a route, steer clear of known areas of bird concentration, such as waste landfills.
The net result of our research was to begin flying with two pilot crews. We also
adusted our operational cruise speeds to remain less than 120 kts whenever we were below 1500’ or within a mile of the shore line. By flying higher over land or further off shore, we drastically reduced the number of bird encounters, hence reducing the risk. – Editor In Chief, Lyn Burks
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