The number of aircraft-bird collisions in Korea dropped sharply last year, but bird strikes remain a major problem to aviation safety, the government said Wednesday.
The number of bird strikes declined 23 percent to 92 from 119 a year earlier, according to the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs. The 2011 figure marked a drop for the second consecutive year following a 10-percent decrease in 2010 from 132 cases in 2009.
Still, the ministry said the country needs additional measures to deal specifically with large migratory birds.
"Migratory birds are especially dangerous to aircraft safety as they tend to be larger and move in groups," it said in a press release. "This requires us to have additional measures that can deal with migratory birds."
During the past three years, 14 flights were forced to return to their originating airports following collisions with birds. All but three of those cases were caused by migratory birds, the ministry said. (Yonhap)