Hares Sucked Into Plane Engines Pose Serious Safety Threats

Hares that get too close to taxiing planes on the runway of Dublin Airport in Ireland are being sucked into the flight engines. This is a serious safety hazard to planes and passengers alike.

According to Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), there have been 54 cases of animals being "ingested" by plane engines since Jan. 1, 2019, of which 43 were birds and the remaining 11 were hares. The remains of the hares typically splatter over a large area on the runway, thereby attracting flocks of birds. This leads to a secondary hazard of bird strikes.

Such is the extent of the problem that airport authorities carried out "controlled shoots" to take out 55 hares in 2018, though none were shot this year. Airport authorities have since undertaken a catch-and-release program using flare guns and nets to reduce the animal population on the runway at Dublin.

There is a visible reduction in such accidents this year compared with 102 animals that were "ingested" in 2018. This year, 44 hares were caught at Dublin airport and placed in Kildare and Wicklow under the supervision of a National Parks and Wildlife Service-approved consultant.

"To maintain the highest levels of safety — and to meet key regulatory requirements — all wildlife in the vicinity of the airport has to be proactively managed to minimize the risk to aviation," a spokesman for the DAA told The Irish Post.

In January 2009, Captain Chesley Sullenberger had to opt for an emergency landing of the US Airways Flight 1549 with 155 people on board in the Hudson River after the flight collided with a flock of geese, resulting in dual engine failure. The accident was dubbed "Miracle on the Hudson."