The cannons keeping airplanes safe, one chicken at a time
CNN
At a Canadian research facility, tests are carried out on aircraft parts to ensure they can withstand the impact of birds and drones. The ammunition? Bird carcasses, which are shot at the plane through a cannon.
(CNN) — Birds may be the undisputed masters of the air, but they've been at the losing end of airborne collisions since the dawn of aviation in 1905, when pioneer pilot Orville Wright reported the first bird strike.
Each year, thousands of birds find themselves too close to an aircraft, are unable to maneuver away and lose their lives on impact with a plane.
In 2019, in the United States alone, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) reported over 17,000 bird strikes, with thousands more reported -- and unreported -- around the world.