Bird strikes

Occurrences where hitting a bird was the defining event. Bird strikes are common and usually harmless; the ones on record here are those that cost an engine, broke a windscreen, or brought an aircraft down.

More collections

• Airliner turbulence Why the seatbelt sign matters: airliner turbulence, windshear and storm encounters.
• Off the end: airline overruns and undershoots Airliners that ran off the end of the runway, or touched down before reaching it.
• Helicopter wire strikes Helicopters work low, near power lines, and often in the places the lines run.
• Tail rotor trouble Rotor failures and loss of tail rotor effectiveness: when a helicopter can no longer stop itself spinning.