The SriLankan Airlines flight UL 503, which was preparing to fly to London, had to be stopped by the pilots just before takeoff. The reason for this was a sea eagle colliding with one of the aircraft's engines.With this collision between an iron bird and a re…
The SriLankan Airlines flight UL 503, which was preparing to fly to London, had to be stopped by the pilots just before takeoff. The reason for this was a sea eagle colliding with one of the aircraft's engines.
According to sources in the aviation sector, several blades of the aircraft's engine were damaged in this incident. Accordingly, it is expected that an insurance claim can be made for the relevant repair work. However, it is no secret that bird strikes on aircraft are a common type of accident in the aviation sector.
The relevant sources further state that taking measures such as shooting and killing animals like birds or dogs that come onto the runway is not practical in Sri Lanka. The main reasons for this are the pressure from animal rights activists and the cultural factors prevalent in the country's society.
Against this backdrop, with the new incident, increased attention has been decided to be given to the committee previously appointed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation for wildlife hazard management around airports. This committee consists of representatives from the Department of Wildlife Conservation, the Civil Aviation Authority, Airport and Aviation Services (Sri Lanka) Ltd., and the Ministry.
In addition to Katunayake Bandaranaike International Airport, which is the main airport in Sri Lanka, Mattala, Batticaloa, and Ratmalana have also been declared international airports. For this reason, managing the threat posed by wild animals has become an extremely important task.
Commenting on this, Minister of Ports, Civil Aviation and Energy, Mr. Anura Karunathilaka, stated that the committee is coordinating with relevant parties to prevent all types of hazards posed by wild animals. The Minister also mentioned that attention has been paid to preventing potential accidents from wild elephants at Mattala Airport, and that the threat posed by peacocks has now been properly controlled.
"We want to ensure safety by preventing accidents that could be caused by birds or any other animal," the Minister further emphasized.