ATSB introduces database on wildlife attacks

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has launched a new interactive tool that allows pilots, airfield and aircraft operators and the public to view figures on aircraft wildlife collisions across Australia. The newly released National Aviation Wildlife Strike Dashboard provides detailed information on all wildlife collisions reported to the ATSB over the past 10 years.

“Wildlife collisions – particularly bird collisions – account for about a third of the 5,500 aviation accidents reported to the ATSB each year,” Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said. “While the vast majority of these incidents do not result in injury to flight crew or passengers, they pose a potential safety risk and incur significant economic costs to aerodrome and aircraft operators. This dashboard is designed to provide information to pilots, aerodrome and aircraft operators, regulators and other industry participants to assist in understanding and managing the hazards associated with wildlife collisions.”

In the past, the ATSB has published regular data reports detailing wildlife collision data. Instead, the new dashboard makes the data available for analysis on a more regular basis. The dashboard includes a number of different filtering methods to help stakeholders better understand the data relevant to their operations.

Mitchell mentioned two bird strikes involving Australian passenger aircraft – one returning to Sydney shortly after a bird strike on takeoff, and another diverted to Invercargill from Queenstown after a bird strike on takeoff. He also spoke of another incident earlier this month in which a Royal Flying Doctor Service PC-12 collided with a cow while landing at a remote airstrip in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. “While these incidents were managed safely by the crew and fortunately no one on board the aircraft was injured, they are fresh evidence of the dangers that wildlife collisions pose to the aviation industry,” Mitchell said.

The ATSB investigated two fatal wildlife collisions in 2022 – a Bell 206 LongRanger that collided with the ground after being struck by a wedge-tailed eagle while in flight in the NSW Hunter Region, and an agricultural crop duster that collided with the ground after striking an Australian bustard near Chinchilla, Queensland. “These two accidents demonstrate the risk wildlife collisions can pose to light aircraft on private and commercial operations,” Mitchell concluded.

Learn more about the dashboard and try it out here.

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