South Korea has mandated all airports to install bird detection cameras and thermal imaging radars by 2026,in a measurer implement following the deadly crash of a Boeing 737-800 in December 2022 that resulted in 179 fatalities,
Investigators discovered evidence of a bird strike on the plane, including feathers and blood stains on the engines, as part of the ongoing investigation into the accident.
The Ministry of Land announced that bird detection radars will improve early detection of birds’ presence, and thermal imaging cameras will be required at all airports; currently, only four airports have such cameras.
Irish owned aircraft HL8088, operating as Jeju Air Flight 2216, crashed on December 29, 2022, during a flight from Bangkok to Muan International Airport, where the aircraft encountered bird activity shortly before the incident and ultimately collided with a concrete structure after landing without its gear.
Before the crash of Jeju Air Flight 2216, the then greatest loss of life directly linked to a bird strike was on October 4, 1960, when a Lockheed L-188 Electra, flying from Boston as Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, flew through a flock of common starlings during take-off, damaging all four engines. The aircraft crashed into Boston Harbor shortly after takeoff, with 62 fatalities out of 72 passengers. Engines were fitted with increased safeguards against bird ingestion as a result. Other bird strike incidents:
- November 12, 1975, McDonnell Douglas DC-10, at JFK After a rejected takeoff due to a bird strike, the aircraft was destroyed in a post-crash fire. There were no fatalities.
- 1988 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 604 crashed after sucking pigeons into both engines during takeoff, 35 out of 49 passengers died
- 1995, Dassault Falcon 20 crashed during an emergency landing at Paris–Le Bourget Airpor after ingesting lapwings into an engine, all ten on board died
- November 28, 2004, KLM Flight 1673 veered off the runway upon landing after a bird strike caused a malfunction, all 140 passengers and 6 crew evacuated safely
- November 10, 2008 Ryanair Flight 4102 from Frankfurt to Rome made an emergency landing at Ciampino Airport after multiple bird strikes caused both engines to fail.
- January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 ditched into the Hudson River after striking a flock of geese shortly after takeoff, there were no fatalities. The evacuation became famous and was subsequently the subject of a film.
- August 15, 2019 Ural Airlines Flight 178 from Moscow–Zhukovsky to Simferopol, Crimea crash-landed in a cornfield after a bird strike shortly after takeoff, there were no falaities and n74 passengers suffered minor injuries.
- September 16, 2023, a bird strike caused an engine power loss in an Aermacchi MB-339, leading to a crash during an airshow in Turin resulting in the death of a five year old girl.
