Getting To Know Bird Strike That Allegedly Caused A Jeju Air Plane Accident

Airplane (Pixabay)

JAKARTA - The Jeju Air plane with a Boeing 737-800 fleet crashed on Sunday, December 29, 20224 at Muan International Airport. The accident occurred with the plane crashing on the runway, because the plane landing gear was not functioning properly.

It is suspected that the landing wheels of the aircraft could not function because of the bird strike or aircraft colliding with the birds. Bird strike is a collision event between aircraft and birds, which has become a common and real risk in the world of aviation.

Quoting from ICAO, on Monday, December 30, 2024, the bird strike usually occurs in areas near the airport, when the plane is about to take off and land. Collisions with this bird can damage aircraft engines and cause accidents, which are very fatal.

If a bird is hit by an airplane engine, the engine will lose power and the birds will be carried away on the engine's aerial intake. The aircraft engine will experience a function that affects the flight, even the pilot loses control of the aircraft.

Most of the bird strike occurs in the morning or at sunset, when birds are active. With that, pilots are trained to be vigilant at these times.

Radar can be used to track bird swarms. However, this technology is based on land and is not available worldwide so it cannot be done anywhere.

Therefore, every airport must have a way to get rid of birds that are wildlife from the airport area for the safety of flights. Like the Australian Government's Civil Aviation Safety Authority, it uses a small gas explosion that imitates the sound of rifles to prevent birds from roaming near the runway.