Aircraft collisons involving birds increase 62 percent

An average of 524 aircraft collisions per year are caused by geese and other large birds, UPI reported. U.S. Federal Aviation Administration data indicate that these collisions have risen sharply. The FAA had proposed to bar the release of this data, so as not to discourage airports from reporting incidents. However, a spokesperson said FOIA requests are not being denied.

Serious collisions between large birds and airliners have risen sharply this decade, a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration report shows.

Richard Dolbeer, a retired U.S. Department of Agriculture wildlife biologist who created the FAA database on bird-plane collisions in 1990, says growing populations of large birds are a factor, USA Today reported Tuesday.

"In most cases it's going to be these large birds that are going to cause a catastrophe or a significant strike event," Dolbeer said.

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