Analysis of the bird strike reports received by the Finnish Transport Safety Agency between the years 2000 and 2011

As soon as people started to fly, bird strikes became a significant safety issue. At present, hundreds of bird strikes are reported every year, and the consequences vary between a scared pilot to a total aircraft hull loss. It has been estimated that the material cost of bird strikes may be more than one billion Euros annually. But in addition, there is the immeasurable cost of losing human lives. How could we fly safely sharing the same sky with the birds? The question is difficult to answer because of the complex reasons why bird strikes happen. The increasing number of flights and growing bird population will also bring new challenges in the future. This thesis approaches the subject by concentrating on the benefits of bird strike reporting in Finland. The thesis reviews all bird strike reports received by the Finnish Transport Safety Agency between the years 2000 and 2011. According to this data, the number of bird strike reports has been increasing significantly during the past few years. Unfortunately, at the same time, the quality of bird strike reports has been decreasing in Finland. Based on the reports analysed, the importance of good bird strike reporting was not yet clear for all stakeholders. The bird species were often poorly identified, and a lot of other valuable data, such as weather details, were frequently missing from bird strike reports. In addition, bird strikes that did not cause any damage were often not reported. This was because bird strike reporting is not yet mandatory in Finland. The aim in bird strike reporting should be better quality and higher frequency than what is currently found in Finland. This could certainly improve aviation safety.