Two United Airlines flights reported bird strikes shortly after departing Houston, Texas, on Tuesday night, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Two flights departing George Bush Intercontinental Airport Tuesday night, one bound for Las Vegas and the other for Chile, returned to the airport. Both flights experienced bird strikes within about 20 minutes of each other, officials said.
Retired U.S. Navy Commander and aviator Julie Vida said it’s “purely coincidental” that the two bird strikes happened to the same airline.
“In fact the reports reflect due diligence and adherence to policy and regulations that the pilots reported both strikes in a timely manner,” Vida said.
“Similar to unforecasted turbulence or other weather event, pilots often report bird strikes to Air Traffic Control (ATC) as soon as it’s safe to do so, in order to notify other aviators in the area,” Vida said.
“Bird strikes are a hazard to aviation for several reasons, the most catastrophic being an engine fire or flame-out caused by bird ingestion,” Vida said. “In most cases, however, bird strikes are minor and do not result in damage so severe that an emergency landing is required.”
According to the FAA, both planes landed safely Tuesday night, with no reported injuries.
Beyond the local air traffic control, bird strikes are also reported to the FAA, which maintains a National Wildlife Strike Database.
“In addition to mandatory reporting following a strike, the FAA encourages shipping a sample of the avian remains to the Smithsonian Institution Feather Identification Lab for morphological and DNA analysis,” Vida said.
“While a bird strike cannot be predicted, aircrews flying in the vicinity of known bird populations or migratory paths, particularly when at low altitude, are generally more alert and intentional in scanning for visual indication of bird activity,” Vida said. “In cases where bird populations are known or protected wildlife is present, the potential hazard is often added to the list of concerns the entire crew briefs on prior to the flight.”
TMX contributed to this story.