Post by corsair67 on Jul 7, 2006 10:40:09 GMT 12
From todays The Australian.
Interesting article about research into birdstrikes being undertaken in Australia. Poor bloody Galahs: if they're not being bowled by trucks, it's the aircraft taking them out too!
Birdstrike DNA probe
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
July 07, 2006.
CSI-type forensic techniques are being developed to identify the Australian birds and other creatures that most commonly endanger aircraft.
And initial tests have surprised experts, by suggesting more species may be involved than previously thought.
Birds are a constant threat to planes. A strike can cost a major airline millions of dollars in repairs and lost operating time.
They worry manufacturers so much that special guns are used to propel dead birds at the windscreens and engines of new planes to test their impact.
More than 1300 aircraft bird strikes are officially reported in Australia each year and about 150 planes are damaged.
Australia has long had a list of airborne miscreants thought to pose the biggest problems for aircraft.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau ranks the white-bellied sea eagle as the most dangerous, followed by the Australian white ibis, the Australian wood duck, the galah, and the silver gull.
But the mess left by a strike means the culprit can go unidentified.
Scientists from the Australian Museum and Museum Victoria set out to test the feasibility of using forensic DNA testing to identify remains. About 250 sampling kits were distributed to aerodrome personnel around the country, and 29 bird-strike samples were returned.
These included blood, muscle, intestines, skin and feathers from strikes, which could not be identified using traditional methods.
The scientists found the ATSB's eight highest-risk species made up just 27 per cent of the sample tested - and that some "bird strikes" did not even involve birds.
They detected 20 different species, including three types of bats, using DNA identification of strike samples.
"This is not surprising, given the general nature of the list, which covered all of Australia," the scientists told ATSB.
"It would be overly ambitious to expect these species to occur as the top eight species in all parts of a country as large and climatically varied as Australia."
Because aircraft are exposed to extreme environments that can degrade DNA, the team also looked at how badly a sample could be damaged before analysis was impossible.
They concluded that strike samples should be refrigerated to ensure the greatest chance of a positive result.
The DNA analysis also revealed that identification by airport staff based on body parts might not be accurate.
Interesting article about research into birdstrikes being undertaken in Australia. Poor bloody Galahs: if they're not being bowled by trucks, it's the aircraft taking them out too!
Birdstrike DNA probe
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
July 07, 2006.
CSI-type forensic techniques are being developed to identify the Australian birds and other creatures that most commonly endanger aircraft.
And initial tests have surprised experts, by suggesting more species may be involved than previously thought.
Birds are a constant threat to planes. A strike can cost a major airline millions of dollars in repairs and lost operating time.
They worry manufacturers so much that special guns are used to propel dead birds at the windscreens and engines of new planes to test their impact.
More than 1300 aircraft bird strikes are officially reported in Australia each year and about 150 planes are damaged.
Australia has long had a list of airborne miscreants thought to pose the biggest problems for aircraft.
The Australian Transport Safety Bureau ranks the white-bellied sea eagle as the most dangerous, followed by the Australian white ibis, the Australian wood duck, the galah, and the silver gull.
But the mess left by a strike means the culprit can go unidentified.
Scientists from the Australian Museum and Museum Victoria set out to test the feasibility of using forensic DNA testing to identify remains. About 250 sampling kits were distributed to aerodrome personnel around the country, and 29 bird-strike samples were returned.
These included blood, muscle, intestines, skin and feathers from strikes, which could not be identified using traditional methods.
The scientists found the ATSB's eight highest-risk species made up just 27 per cent of the sample tested - and that some "bird strikes" did not even involve birds.
They detected 20 different species, including three types of bats, using DNA identification of strike samples.
"This is not surprising, given the general nature of the list, which covered all of Australia," the scientists told ATSB.
"It would be overly ambitious to expect these species to occur as the top eight species in all parts of a country as large and climatically varied as Australia."
Because aircraft are exposed to extreme environments that can degrade DNA, the team also looked at how badly a sample could be damaged before analysis was impossible.
They concluded that strike samples should be refrigerated to ensure the greatest chance of a positive result.
The DNA analysis also revealed that identification by airport staff based on body parts might not be accurate.
