What will happen if the plane faces a bird?
"Clashing with birds – the usual phenomenon, and damage from them is usually minimal. But, of course, not for birds. As you, probably, guess, components of the aircraft are designed to withstand the meetings of this kind. On the Internet, you can see the rollers on which the bodies of birds are shot from special guns as part of the tests for the strength of windshields, intricate devices, etc. D. In my practice there were such incidents – and in the worst case everything ended with a small dent or crack.
However, there are cases when a meeting with a bird can be really dangerous. For example, when birds fall into engines. In 2009, US Airways flights 1549 planned to the Hudson River after a collision with a pack of Canadian geese. Modern turboprop engines are stable, but they do not respond very well when they enter foreign objects, especially those that break into their rotating blades at high speeds. The birds do not clog the engine, but may bend or break the fan blades, leading to engine failure. The heavier the bird, the more damage it can cause. When flying at a speed of 460 km / h (in the US is the maximum permissible velocity at a height of up to 3000 m, which often can be found bird) collision with goose ordinary size means the impact force 200 kN.
Even small birds are dangerous, if they are a bunch of raid. In 1960, Eastern Airlines turboprop plane crashed in Boston after a collision with a flock of starlings. I already know your next question. Why no front engine shields? In addition to such a screen will partially block the inflow of air, it must be large (and, likely, a conical shape), and extremely strong. Because if he did not survive the impact, the engine will get not only birds, but also pieces of metal. Apart from the cases mentioned, the probability that some engines are out of action due to a collision with a bird, is extremely small, and it makes such a device useless ".
