Island airport bird threat

By Tony Thornton –

After reading the Letters to the Editor in the Feb 2009 issue, I am compelled to respond to the twisting of information to suit the NIMBYs (Not In My Back Yard) that oppose the Toronto Island airport.

Brian Isler states that there is “an alarming frequency of bird strikes at YTZ” and “suggest strongly that the margin of safety for flights in and out of YTZ is insufficient.” [SEE LETTER BELOW]

Poppycock. Perhaps the disproportionate number of birdstrikes in YTZ is the fact that Porter have more flights into and out of YTZ?

Fact: Commercial aircraft hit birds every day of the year but seldom cause damage and what happened in New York was an anomaly…pure and simple.

The airport was established in 1939, it is clear that if you didn’t like living near an airport, you shouldn’t have moved close to it. Dump trucks roaring down Lakeshore make more noise than the aircraft do, as does the noise from traffic on the Gardiner. So please refrain from being an armchair expert and spouting “facts” that do not reflect reality, simply because you chose to live near an airport.

According to the Bird Strike Committee, established by the U.S. government, and the airline industry, over 195 people have been killed worldwide (and property damage incurred exceeding $600 million to U.S. aircraft) as a result of bird and other wildlife strikes since 1988 (Visit website: www.birdstrike.org/birds.htm). The accounts there of serious incidents are chilling.
In its Top Ten Bird Strike Myths, the committee points specifically to the increasing populations of Canada geese and double-crested cormorants, as a source of increasing worry.
As you will be aware, there is a huge population of both bird species in the Toronto harbour, as well as thousands of ring-billed gulls.
CommunityAIR research shows that Porter aircraft have been involved in numerous bird strikes in 2007: two in Halifax, one in each of Montreal and Ottawa, and a disproportionate 17 at the Toronto Island airport. Pilot cautions for the Island airport confirm this risk. They include the following statement: “Extensive bird activity on aerodrome.”
The alarming frequency of bird strikes at the Toronto Island airport, as compared to other airports that Porter flies into, suggests strongly that the margin of safety for flights in and out of the Toronto Island airport is insufficient, due to the “extensive bird activity.”
For 2008, the number of bird strikes at that airport, increased to 21.
Any of those could have resulted in the same kind of accident we have seen in the Hudson River. The Island airport is located on the waterfront, adjacent to a bird sanctuary.
Will it take a similar crash in Toronto’s harbour for the Port Authority, and Transport Canada to finally accept that the Island airport is just not safe enough?