The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

A WESTERN Air plane bound for New Providence returned to Grand Bahama International Airport shortly after take off on Monday morning because of a bird strike to the plane’s windshield.

The flight departed Freeport around 8am with 43 passengers onboard. As the plane became airborne, it reportedly encountered a flock of birds.

According to an official at the airline, a bird hit the nose and bounced onto the windshield. As a precaution, the flight crew diverted the plane back to the airport. Officials said that bird strikes have been an issue in the past at the airport and are calling for preventative measures to be put in place to address the problem.

Sherrecia Rolle, vice president of operations and general counsel of Western Air, told The Tribune that the aircraft landed safely and that passengers were put on another one of their planes into Nassau.

“Our flight crew took off at 8am (Monday) and as soon as they took off and rotated, a bird hit the nose of the aircraft and bounced onto the windshield. So as a precautionary measure, they turned back and landed safely and deplaned the passengers and took another aircraft to conduct that flight,” she said.

Ms Rolle said that the aircraft in question underwent a full inspection and it was determined that there was no damage to the plane.

“Unfortunately, with the climate we have with all these various birds around here, it is sometimes unavoidable, and the flight crew handled everything well, and the passengers were well on their way shortly after that,” she said.

“Safety is our number one priority, and that’s why the flight crew wanted to ensure they circled back to our maintenance base here in Freeport to ensure the aircraft is well intact. And to switch aircraft to give our maintenance staff an opportunity to conduct a proper inspection of the aircraft that came in contact with the bird,” Ms Rolle.

Rex Rolle, president of Western Air, said that airports in the Bahamas should have bird scare programmes in place.

He noted that airports in the US, particularly in New York, have a machine that shoots blanks every 30 minutes to scare the birds off.

Mr Rolle stated that there have been incidents with birds in the past at the airport in Grand Bahama. “A year ago, we were pushing for a bird watch programme because when a bird gets in the engine, it can cost half a million dollars in damage,” he said. “This is a small airport (in Grand Bahama), but they need to put in preventative measures to scare the birds.”

Mr Rolle said that he was disappointed to learn that after their pilots had reported the bird strike to airport officials, there was no check of the runway by any airport staff to ensure it was clear for landing on the aircraft’s return to the airport.

“The pilots gave them time to check the runway and airport officials did not inspect the runway, and dead birds were still on the runway – that’s another hazard. We told them we had a bird strike, and there were still dead birds on the runway, and they let another aircraft take off. They are still not taking it seriously,” he said.

Meanwhile Ms Rolle said that Western Air continues to demonstrate its sustainability in the domestic travel industry.

She noted that they are gearing up to start two new routes from Nassau in time for the holidays – one into George Town, Exuma, and another into Marsh Harbour, Abaco.

“We are looking forward to starting our Nassau to George Town, Exuma, and Nassau to Marsh Harbour on Thursday, December 20,” she said. The airline will provide daily jet service into those two destinations three times a day.

Ms Rolle also noted that Western Air started its Cat Island route about two weeks ago. “That has been going well. It takes time to build a route to ensure people we are here to stay – and we are definitely here to stay. And so, we want the same type of response in Exuma and Marsh Harbour as well,” she said.