Surge in Airplane-bird Collisions Has Dallas Love Field Eyeing High-tech Solution

Dallas Love Field has seen a tenfold surge in the number of potentially dangerous collisions between birds and airplanes this year, and city officials are looking to invest $1.7 million into a new detection system to help counteract the threat.There have been 180 bird strikes at the urban airport so far in 2017, compared to just 18 in 2016, according to information to be presented to a Dallas City Council committee Monday. The airport, which typically sees 200 departures a day, had 120 and 83 bird strikes in 2015 and 2014, respectively.There isn’t a clear explanation for the higher number of strikes in 2017, Dallas aviation director Mark Duebner said, although he suspects bustling development in the area around Love Field playing a role in displacing birds into the open airfield.  Continue reading...