I'm Glad Moose Don't Fly Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard

The term bird strike is more commonly, but not only, applied to occurrences of birds colliding with any form of aircraft. It can also be used for collisions between birds and any other modes of transport such as cars and trains, as well as for other man-made structures such as buildings and towers.

Although there has been tens of thousands of reported instances of bird strike since man first took to the sky, figures from a 2003 report by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) put the known number of fatal accidents involving civil aircraft at forty-two and the death toll from these accidents at 231 people.

These figures have increased since then with one of the contributing factors being an increase in bird populations of species that are commonly involved in such accidents.

Answer: Approaching for landing

Once again using figures from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, a fourteen year study between 1990 and 2003 found that out of a total of 39,459 known instances of bird strike to civilian aircraft, 15,065 (38%) occurred during the aeroplane's landing approach.

This was almost double the second most common time of during the take-off run at 7,810 (20%). The entire landing phase of the aircraft (the descent, approach and landing roll) accounted for 22,989 (58%) of all bird strikes. The overall view of the statistics showed that aeroplanes could indeed be subjected to bird strike anywhere and at anytime, but the greatest risk was at an altitude of less than one kilometre, and either at, or within very close proximity to the airport.

Answer: Engine

Avian ingestion occurs when a bird or birds either fly into or are sucked into the engines of the aeroplane. This is considered to be the most serious of all bird strikes on aircraft and the one that can have the greatest effect on its flight capabilities.

As the bird enters the engine it has the potential to cause serious damage to the fan blades such as buckling them or even dislocating them from the rest of the fan apparatus which would inevitably lead to further damage to the engine. Possible worst case scenarios are a loss of engine thrust and power, fire and complete cessation of the engine.

This type of damage can be caused by a single large bird such as an eagle, or by a number of small birds like sparrows striking the same engine.

Answer: Snarge

The Smithsonian Institute's Feather Laboratory are assisting aviation authorities and the military in making the skies a safer place to travel. Packages of snarge (who knows how they came up with that name) collected from aeroplanes are delivered to the laboratory everyday where scientists are left with the grisly task of identifying what species of bird it is from the very little that remains of it. Sometimes they are lucky enough to be given a whole and intact feather which can then be matched to one of the 600,000 plus preserved specimens of birds in the Smithsonian's collection.

Otherwise DNA samples are relied upon to identify the victim. The data that is collected in this work goes towards establishing a better understanding of what birds are in what areas and at what times as well as the potential damage they can cause to aircraft.

This information can in turn be used to track safer flight paths and assist in the design of future aeroplanes and the materials used for them.

Answer: Chicken gun

The chicken gun, which was more of a cannon, was used by de Havilland to determine how much damage would be inflicted on their aircraft if they were to suffer bird strike. The gun was loaded with a freshly killed chicken and then fired at the aeroplane before it was taken away for an assessment of the damage the chicken had caused.

The use of a chicken gave results similar to that of large live birds but they have been replaced by gelatin moulds of the same size and weight as chickens for modern applications, especially for testing the strength of cockpit windows.

The chicken gun has come to be known by other names like the chicken cannon, turkey gun and rooster booster as well as the rather boring bird strike simulator.

Answer: Calbraith Rodgers

Cal Rodgers would probably prefer to be remembered as the pioneering aviator who was the first person to complete a transcontinental flight across the U.S. He undertook this challenge after newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst offered a $50,000 purse for the first person to accomplish the feat within thirty days. Rodgers flew a Wright brothers built biplane from Sheepshead, New York to Pasadena, California in the forty-nine days between the 17th of September and the 5th of November in 1911. On the 3rd of April, 1912, Rodgers was test flying in the Long Beach area when he flew into a flock of birds. One of these birds got stuck in the controls of the aeroplane leaving Rodgers unable to handle it properly.

He crashed into the water and was found to have broken his neck when his body was pulled from the wreckage moments later.

Answer: Starling

Within seconds of taking off from Boston-Logan International Airport the Lockheed L-188A Electra flew into a flock of starlings and ingested a number of them into its engines. Damage to the aeroplane's number one engine caused it to shut down, while engines two and four both suffered a loss of power.

The resultant loss of airspeed prevented the aeroplane from completing its take off and the pilot was unable to maintain control over it. It crashed into the nearby Winthrop Bay, the fuselage breaking into two pieces in the process.

A total of sixty-two out of the seventy-two passengers and crew perished.

Answer: Hudson River

Within just a few minutes of take-off from New York's LaGuardia Airport, the Airbus A320-214 flew into the path of a flock of Canada geese. Numerous birds struck the cockpit window and the aeroplane's body, and a subsequent investigation found the remains of birds in both of the severely damaged engines. Chesley Sullenberger, the flight's pilot in command, radioed the control tower at LaGuardia and informed them that the aeroplane had suffered bird strike and had lost thrust in both of its engines. Clearance to return for an emergency landing at LaGuardia was given but Sullenberger determined it was not possible. Nor was the second option of landing at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey. Sullenberger successfully ditched into the Hudson River with no loss of lives.

The entire crew were praised for the way in which they handled this potentially disastrous incident and it was dubbed the 'Miracle on the Hudson.'

Answer: Border Collie

As anybody who has ever owned a border collie would know, this breed loves nothing more than to run and run and run. This attribute, coupled with its natural herding instinct, saw it as being the perfect breed for trialing a bird harassment program. The role of the border collie was to act as a predator to scare away colonies of birds that had made the airport their home, and to prevent new colonies from settling there.

The trial was considered to be a success and the results were impressive. When compared to figures taken between 1997-1998, a survey of the impact of the border collie after just eight months showed a larger than fifty percent reduction in the number of wading birds and a twenty-nine percent reduction in the number of individual bird species within the airport. Considering that the dog was only worked for two brief spells each day, once each morning and afternoon, the figures might have been even better if he was worked longer.

Answer: True

Do you remember that snarge at the Smithsonian Institute I was telling you about in question four? Well, each package of snarge is sent to them by aviation operators, including the Air Force, who have collected the remains from their aircraft themselves.

It is not compulsory for them to do so but it is encouraged to help better understand and develop countermeasures for bird strike. Each package has the details of the bird strike attached to it including the position of the aeroplane at the time. Through DNA testing procedures, some packages of snarge have been found to contain the remains of bats, cats, rabbits, frogs and reptiles that have struck the aircraft whilst it was in flight. Bats can fly so that's no surprise, but what about the others? The Smithsonian's have a very simple explanation.

These animals have been picked up as food by birds of prey which have then dropped them into the flight path of the aircraft. Now aren't you glad moose don't fly?