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What is Bird Strike and why was Delhi airport declared a full emergency?
Delhi International airport is in a full emergency due to a bird strike on Cargo aircraft going to Dubai international airport (DXB) from Delhi the flight is operated by FedEx.
FedEx Flight Suffers bird strike just after takeoff.
On 1st February 2023, the FedEx flight took off from Delhi International Airport according to the Delhi airport official the bird strike happens at 1000fts of altitude immediately after the incident the Pilot informed the Delhi Air Traffic controller and make an emergency landing. And Airport authority makes the emergency response team ready for action.
The flight was grounded for technical inspection to see the damage caused to the aircraft before flying back to ensure safety.
Due to this lot of flight delays happened and recently also Bad weather affected Delhi Airport operations resulting in Flight diversion.
What is Bird Strike and how it affects the operations?
The Bird Strike is a hazard where airborne birds hit the aircraft causing Engine failures or Structure damage. The bird strikes have caused a lot of incidents or accidents in the aviation industry alone in the united state of America over 13000 cases are reported. The most common damage that happens due to bird strikes is damage to the windscreen or damage to the engine as birds got sucked into the aircraft engine resulting in engine failure.
But in the real world, only about a few flights hit the birds and result in any major damage. The Birds strike mostly happen during the landing and take-off of the aircraft and during cursing, at 36000 ft the risk of bird strike is very less due to the height of the aircraft.
The most famous Accident that happens due to Bird Strike is a US Airways flight landing at the Houston River.
The effects of Birds on aircraft operations.
If birds hit the aircraft or get into the engine it resulted in the loss of control as the engine fails to result in no power and the pilot has to use only a single engine to control the aircraft if there is structural damage, then use the loss of control can happen. It resulted in huge loss to airlines as the pilot has to make an emergency landing as happened with the FedEx Flight Suffers bird strike just after takeoff as per the procedure the aircraft has to land at the nearest airport and for that fuel to be dumped to reach the landing weight requirement of the aircraft and fuel has been dump into the air.
What are the procedures to be followed after Bird Hits Aircraft?
When Birds hits the aircraft just after the pilot has to look the engines are working fine and they have to inform to nearest airport’s Air Traffic control for an emergency landing if there is any damage. If it happens just after the take-off then fuel Dumping is important to meet land weight requirements. Then Air Traffic controller has to inform authorities of emergencies produced such as the ARFF Aircraft rescue and firefighting team, medical staff in case of any medical emergency, and more.