Aeroplane Jet Engine and Birds

[Beswad]

I would imagine from time to time birds in flight will get into the path of aeroplanes and get sucked into jet engines and be crushed.

What happens to the engine if a bird do get sucked? Will the engine be ok?

[commoner]

...mmm...well. a small bird might be ok but if it was a really large one or a flock of geese for example..........the engine woud more than likely loose a whole lot of turbine blades which in turn would cause a catastrophic failure of the engine with dire results...some crashes are the cause of bird strikes though the bird usually comes off the loser,and much attention is paid to clearing them from airfields, such as flying birds of prey and playing distress signals.

Here's just one report on the subject.....commoner.

http://www.birdstrike.org/commlink/birdrisk.htm

[Skids]

Generally, turbo-jet engines will survive bird strikes, especially the large high-bypass turbo-jets you see on airliners. Although the engine will be replaced as soon as possible.

[vehelpfulguy]

One of the tests that is done when developing jet engines is to throw birds into the engine while it is running and see what happens.

I assume they are dead birds :-)

[Zen]

A urban legend story related to bird strikes is frequently found on the Internet. Birdstrike simulators are currently used by aircraft manufacturers and/or aviation authorities (such as the FAA, UK CAA or NASA) to test aircraft against birdstrike, and usually work by firing a (dead) chicken at the aircraft. According to the stories, British Rail (or in other versions an institute known as the USPA) borrows this device to test the strength of the windshields on their high speed trains. On impact, the chicken shatters the windshield, breaks the operators chair, and comes to rest embedded in the engine. British Rail (or the USPA) asks the FAA for help, and receives a one sentence reply: Thaw the chicken.

[rojash]

"I assume they are dead birds :-)"

Well, they certainly are after the test...

[blue virgin]

It all depends on where abouts the bird enters the engine intake. Many birds get chopped up by the front, fan blades and pass down the bypass duct on a modern turbo-fan engine. Often, there is little or no damage done to the fan blades, but sometimes 1 or more blades need to be replaced.

If the bird goes down the core of the engine, through the compressor stages, combustion chamber and turbine sections, then it can cause a few more problems. Generally, the engine must undergo a boroscope (little fibreoptic camera) inspection to determine if any damage was done to the internal parts of the engine. If no damage is found, then the engine can remain in service.

If any of the fan, compressor, or turbine blades is broken right off, the engine is designed (allegedly!) to contain the failure, but unfortunately this is not always the case! However, it is certain that birds make a lot less mess than the humans that occasionally meet their maker by straying too close to a running engine.....