Bird plane risk ‘unacceptable’

Press, 25 September 1982, Page 6

Bird plane risk ‘unacceptable’

Christchurch Airport averaged 100 to 120 potentially disastrous bird-aircraft collisions a year, the northern refuse transfer station hearing was told yesterday. These figures included small planes and large passenger aircraft, said Mr M. W. Atkinson, the airport director. Mr Atkinson backed evidence given by Captain M. E. McGreal, the assistant director (operations planning), of the Civil Aviation Division, at the hearing at the Waimairi District Council, ;to choose one of three Redwood sites for a refuse station. “With the Johns Road rubbish tip supporting,-SOOO to 5000 birds, the' hazard to aircraft has grown unacceptably high," Captain McGreal

said. He told the hearing that in 1980 there had been 89 bird strikes involving large passenger planes at Christchurch, 69 in 1981, and 32 for the first half of this year. Each of these incidents had been a potential aviation disaster, he said. In the last eight years, there had been a marked increase in potential hazards from birds because of the increase in bird population at the John’s Road tip, and the larger passenger aircraft. Although ' the Waimairi District Council had tried to reduce the amount of food available for birds this had been extremely'difficult. - - Captain McGreal urged the earliest possible closing oi the tip. V.’