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Dana Air, one of
Nigeria’s newest domestic carriers, on Thursday, announced that it
recorded a loss of about N270 million to a recent bird strike on one of
its aircraft.

Bird strikes, or
Bird Aircraft Strike Hazards (BASH), are collisions between birds and
man-made vehicles or aircraft. According to the airline, the
Lagos-bound aircraft, from Abuja, was grounded for three weeks as a
result of the mishap inflicted on it by the incident. “Incidents like
this, which can be prevented, are causing airline operators great
losses and are equal potential risks to flights,” said Jacky
Hathiramani, the Managing Director of the carrier, in a statement made
available to journalists at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos.

In April, 97 air
travellers aboard one of Dana Air’s 9am Abuja-bound flights from Lagos
escaped a crash after one of the engines of their aircraft suffered
bird strikes minutes after takeoff. The aircraft, which took off from
the Murtala Muhammed Airport 2 (MMA2), Lagos, had to effect an
emergency landing at the international wing of the airport when sparks
resulting into smokes emanated from its affected engine. Mr Hathiramani
called on the affected authorities to address the issue of bird strikes
across airports in the country, before more harm is done both on
aircraft and passengers. “We hope that the authorities in charge would
take up the challenge as soon as possible and reduce it not eliminate
the incidents of bird strikes in our airports,” he said.

Preventive efforts

Speaking on the development, John Obakpolor, a retired group captain
and expert in Nigeria’s aviation sector, urged the Federal Airports
Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to take as important the need for an
airport free of animals, so as to minimise the effects of bird strikes
on aircraft. According to him, domestic carriers are losing hundreds of
millions of naira to the hazard, which could lead to possible air
accident. “It is standard industry practice of FAAN to compensate
airlines for the losses they suffer on account of bird strikes,” he
said. “It is the responsibility of the airport authority to put
measures in place that will reduce the menace of birds at airports
across the country.”