Charted: Airplanes hit birds surprisingly often
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Passenger videos are making the rounds online after a plane engine caught fire from a bird strike Sunday and the airliner had to return to John Glenn International Airport shortly after takeoff.
Threat level: The clips are understandably unnerving, but planes actually hit birds more often than you'd think, per a Federal Aviation Administration database.
- Already this year, 16 strikes have been reported out of John Glenn, not including Sunday's incident.
The big picture: Before the pandemic, reports of wildlife strikes nationwide had been trending upward for years, partially spurred by increased awareness following the 2009 "Miracle on the Hudson."
Yes, but: Impacts causing substantial damage are much less common today because of successful wildlife mitigation strategies, a recent USA Today investigation found.
Zoom in: There have been over 2,000 reported strikes out of Columbus' two airports since 2003, and eight have caused substantial damage.
- The most recent was in 2015, when a red-tailed hawk flew into an engine and also led to an emergency return to the airport.