Bird collisions are cause of many global air accidents: expert

PARIS: The deadly Boeing plane crash in South Korea which killed 179 people on board was initially blamed on a bird collision, a stark reminder of how such incidents are often the cause of aviation accidents around the world.

Officials had initially cited a bird strike as a likely cause of Sunday´s crash of the Jeju Air plane, though Seoul said on Monday it was conducting a special inspection of all 101 Boeing 737-800s operating in South Korea. Whatever the cause of Sunday´s crash, aviation authorities around the world appear to be recording more bird collision incidents as air traffic grows.

In the United States alone, 17,190 bird strikes were recorded in 2022, according to a database set up by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). That was up 10 percent on 2021´s figure, in line with increased air traffic following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Collisions in the United States between wild animals and civil aircraft totalled 291,600 between 1990 and 2023, according to the same records. In mainland France, the Civil Aviation Authority records 600 each year during commercial flights, though serious incidents represent less than 8 percent of cases on average -- a downward trend in recent years.