question about birds and planes

[doodlebugg 10]

I'm so happy that everyone survived the plane crash yesterday but it got me wondering, why don't they just put screens in front of the engines so the birds don't fly into them? I mean to think that in 2009 we still run the risk of crashing due to flippin' flocks of geese just amazes me. There must be SOMETHING that can be done to prevent this you know?

[Ban Hammer 13,345]

I'm so happy that everyone survived the plane crash yesterday but it got me wondering, why don't they just put screens in front of the engines so the birds don't fly into them? I mean to think that in 2009 we still run the risk of crashing due to flippin' flocks of geese just amazes me. There must be SOMETHING that can be done to prevent this you know?

choice 1 - bird goes thru screen because it's not strong enough

choice 2 - bird disintigrates from hitting screen and goes into engine.

same results either way.

[NickD 203]

I'm so happy that everyone survived the plane crash yesterday but it got me wondering, why don't they just put screens in front of the engines so the birds don't fly into them? I mean to think that in 2009 we still run the risk of crashing due to flippin' flocks of geese just amazes me. There must be SOMETHING that can be done to prevent this you know?

Sure they have their reasons, laminar airflow, eddy currents, turbulence may be some of them. Ha, also asked an engine, why do prop tips have to be below the speed of sound while turbines to not, just said, it works that way. But the correct way is to make turbines that can chop up the little bastards, and that is the current technology. So I was told.

Was also told, not recommended to place screens in front of your automobile condenser fins as that could lead to overheating. Ever spend hours trying to clean those thousands of insects out that is causing overheating? I tried angling a screen well in front of the condenser, where the vast majority of insects hit it and drop off, can quickly brush off the little guys with my hand, has worked very well for me, so do that on all my vehicles. Get much colder air in the summer, and use less gas and stopped my overheating problems.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Engines are tested to withstand birdstrike. But not a whole bunch at one time. A screen would just create metal debris.

[mox 298]

The biggest problem with a screen is that it limits airflow. It may not seem like much, but the real estate taken up by the horizontal and vertical spars reduces the flow of air quite a bit. The other problem is that there really is no way to make a screen that's going to stop a 10-20 pound goose from going through an engine at 200-400mph. And then your problem isn't only a bird strike, but it's also metal fragments from the screen.

[Pooky 3,785]

I'm so happy that everyone survived the plane crash yesterday but it got me wondering, why don't they just put screens in front of the engines so the birds don't fly into them? I mean to think that in 2009 we still run the risk of crashing due to flippin' flocks of geese just amazes me. There must be SOMETHING that can be done to prevent this you know?

Getting a birdstrike is rare enough. Having both engines disabled is extremely rare. The main safeguard airliners such as the A320, Boeing 737, etc. have is that if one engine is taken out in any way, the plane can still fly on the remaining engine. By FAA safety rules, the plane must still be able to climb on takeoff to a safe altitude and therefore recover safely to a suitable airport landing place.

The difference her is that both engines were knocked out at the same time. First time I've heard of this happening to an airliner on, or soon after, takeoff.

Props to the pilot, who did everything right.

[doodlebugg 10]

I'm so happy that everyone survived the plane crash yesterday but it got me wondering, why don't they just put screens in front of the engines so the birds don't fly into them? I mean to think that in 2009 we still run the risk of crashing due to flippin' flocks of geese just amazes me. There must be SOMETHING that can be done to prevent this you know?

Getting a birdstrike is rare enough. Having both engines disabled is extremely rare. The main safeguard airliners such as the A320, Boeing 737, etc. have is that if one engine is taken out in any way, the plane can still fly on the remaining engine. By FAA safety rules, the plane must still be able to climb on takeoff to a safe altitude and therefore recover safely to a suitable airport landing place.

The difference her is that both engines were knocked out at the same time. First time I've heard of this happening to an airliner on, or soon after, takeoff.

Props to the pilot, who did everything right.

He's a definite hero for sure! I just freak out about this stuff since I see plenty flocks of geese around Logan.