With 75%* of the bird strikes hitting the wings and engines, why isn't there any training to avoid such strikes by banking if a flock was spotted with enough time to react?
It seems what Boeing recommends* is to ride it out then assess the damage.
Avoid or minimize maneuvering at low altitude to avoid birds.
(...)
Fly the airplane and maintain flight path control.
In the Flying Wild Alaska TV show one time the pilot of a light plane supposedly (exact clearance not shown) banked to avoid the birds. (YouTube)
Is there a correct banking maneuver? Suppose the flock is heading for the right wing, here's what I think of the two alternatives:
- Dip the right wing to move the upwash away from the flock's path, or
- Raise the right wing because birds are better divers than climbers.
In US Airways 1549 both engines suffered, and I don't know if dipping one wing or the other could have saved one engine. According to the CVR transcript, from announcing "birds" to the strike there was a full second. With a typical human reaction time of 0.3 seconds to announce birds, there would have still been a complete second to roll the plane one way or the other. Enough to roll 15° in an Airbus (max normal law FBW roll rate is 15°/s).
Why is riding it out better than a bank? (Worst outcome is the same for doing nothing and doing something.)
I'm neither claiming a solution, nor discussing flight 1549 in particular, rather inquiring about the flaws in my understanding of bird strikes and the related avoidance maneuvers.
* https://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/2011_q3/4/