Looks like Air France is having a problem competing for the skies with birds. During takeoff from the small town of Pau, a bird allegedly flew into an engine of a Fokker 28-100 plane today, causing it to veer off the runway into a truck. The truck driver was killed on the spot. None of the 54 passengers on board of the plane were hurt.
Apparently, between 1990 and 1998, there were an estimated 22,000 bird-aircraft collisions in the United States, which cost an annual $400 million in aircraft repairs.
Good one to “Ask The Pilot” again.
It is really disturbing to know that something as small as a bird can completely cripple an airplane. Then again, I guess it works the other way around, too.