BY SUDESH BHOSLE | NT
VASCO: The number of bird hit incidents at Dabolim airport has increased in recent times, creating much concern among the authorities on the safety of aircrafts and travelers.

The state government agencies and the local panchayat bodies, situated in the close proximity of the airport have not taken any precautionary measures to address this phenomenon, and fears are expressed that such cases may lead to a serious accident, resulting in loss of life and property.
The Dabolim airport has seen considerable increase in air traffic in the last couple of years, with a rise in the number of arrivals, not only domestic flights, but international as well, including chartered flights. Since, the airport is undergoing major upgradation work, including construction of a new state-of-the-art terminus building, the safety of the aircrafts and passengers arriving at Dabolim airport needs to be considered from all angles and by all the stake holders.
The reports of three bird hit incidents within a week, two of which occurred in a single day, has raised concern and fear among the airlines agencies, air travelers, tour and travel operators, besides the Airport Authority of India and the Indian Navy, which monitors the Air Traffic Control (ATC), of the civilian aircrafts.
This concern is further heightened as the tourist season in the state is all set to begin by the end of this month, wherein more flights are expected to use the Dabolim airport, as compared to last year. As most airlines have shown an interest to increase the number of flights to the state, the security of the aircrafts and passengers has become a major concern.
Many experts have attributed the increase of bird hit incidents at Dabolim airport, to the increase in the volume of garbage dumped in the close vicinity of the airport. The Chicalim panchayat, Chicolna-Bogmalo panchayat and Sancoale panchayat are the three main panchayat bodies which are situated in close proximity of the airport.
It is noticed that birds fly around this areas, to feast on the garbage that is strewn about haphazardly in the jurisdiction of these villages, as they do not have an appropriate garbage dumping site. Another important factor of the area being frequented by birds is that they come around to consume the fish that is spread around for drying in open spaces.
The Deputy Speaker and Cortalim MLA, Mr Mauvin Godinho, in an effort to reduce the bird hit incidents, has been making consistent effort to get a modernised garbage treatment plant at Verna, however, his efforts have failed to elicit a positive response from the state government.
The garbage treatment plant would not only take care of the garbage from Cortalim and Dabolim constituencies, but would enhance the safety of the aircrafts visiting Dabolim airport.
Informing on the recent bird hit at Dabolim, sources from aviation industry said that a nocturnal bird was responsible for the same. He said these birds usually fly around the airport and one accidentally hit the aircraft causing damage.
The source further said that bird hits usually occur during takeoff and landing as majority of the birds fly within a few hundred feet of the ground. The highest recorded strike in the FAA database, involved an unidentified species of bird reportedly struck by a DC-8-62 at 39,000 feet.
Most bird-strike databases contain statistics noting the phase of flight during which strikes occurred. These statistics are important because each flight phase has a different level of risk. The two most critical are takeoff and landing; overall accident statistics show that most accidents occur during these two phases of flight. From a wildlife-strike perspective, an aircraft is much more vulnerable during takeoff than when landing, as during landing, the impact force and potential for damage are reduced because an aircraft is approaching at lower speeds, under reduced power and carrying a diminished fuel load.
It was disclosed that as the world civil-aviation body, ICAO, has maintained an international bird-strike database - the ICAO Bird Strike Information System (IBIS), since 1980. The IBIS database contains information on 89,251 bird strikes from around the world for the period 1980 to 1999 inclusive.
A serious incident of bird hit could lead to loss of life, injury to occupants, destruction of aircraft, loss of or damage to more than one engine, damage to one engine together with
ingestion in another, uncontained engine failure, could lead to fire, significant-sized holes in windshield, nose, radome, major structural damage, complete obscuring of vision, multiple or significant-system loss and propeller, helicopter rotor or transmission damage.