Bird Strikes: Lessons, Tools, and Survival Strategies

·47 min·3 clips

Maintain aircraft control first, then slow down, configure flaps, and declare an emergency if needed.

Seth Lake opens by explaining that this recording comes from a live FAA Safety Team seminar in Arkansas. The talk is centered on bird strikes, with some history, prevention ideas, and practical steps to take if a strike happens. He notes that the session was originally delivered at the North Little Rock Airport. The format stays seminar-like from the start, with audience interaction and occasional asides. He introduces bird and wildlife strike work through the Air Force acronym BASH. The discussion then moves into how bird activity varies by season and location. A map is used to show Arkansas risk patterns across different parts of the year, with the darker and redder areas indicating heavier activity. November and December stand out as especially active months, and he notes that a fatal helicopter accident happened in November in a high-activity area. That local example helps anchor the data in a real Arkansas context. Lake then turns to reporting. He explains that there is a website where bird strikes can be reported, searched, and updated, and he emphasizes that anybody can file a report. The seminar also covers what happens to bird remains after a strike. The bird parts are sent to the Smithsonian, where the data helps track migratory patterns. Lake pauses for the audience to identify the term used for bird remains, and the answer is snarge, which becomes a small running joke in the room. He frames the reporting system as something many pilots simply do not know exists. The talk then narrows into the practical consequences of actual strikes. Lake says the damage he has seen is usually on leading edges or windscreens, and on engines in turbine aircraft. He does not recall seeing an elevator jam from a bird strike, though he is careful not to treat that as impossible. Insurance comes up as a possible factor, but he suggests many cases never rise to that level. The episode closes in the same plainspoken tone it starts with, focused on prevention, reporting, and realistic expectations after an impact.

As heard by us

A practical bird-strike seminar with more operational use than polish.

This episode treats bird strikes as an operating issue rather than a talking point, and the live-seminar format gives it a grounded, classroom feel. Seth Lake moves through a bit of history, ways to potentially avoid strikes, reporting steps, and what may follow after an impact.

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Why you'd press play

You want a plainspoken bird-strike briefing before your next flight.

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