Ireland’s Dublin Airport has a bunny problem.
According to the Irish Post, rabbits are being sucked up by plane engines as jets taxi down runways,
via NYDN:
So far this year, 11 bunnies have reportedly been “ingested” by motors while authorities have managed to relocate another 44 rabbits that were in harm’s way. Neither Irish aviation officials nor the rabbits have found the situation lucky.
Hare clogs reportedly pose a greater threat to airline travelers than “bird strikes,” which are more common, but less messy.
According to the Times, splattered rabbits spread more clutter in the propellers and engine cowlings than fowl. Rabbit meat also attracts scavenging birds which means double-trouble for propellers and pilots.
The Dublin Airport Authority reports 43 birds have been sucked into plane engines in 2019. In 2018, airline officials recorded 102 instances of “engine ingestions.”
Authorities have utilized flare guns and netting to keep rabbits away from runways. Hares that are caught are released into the wild under the supervision of National Parks and Wildlife Services, the report said.
“All wildlife in the vicinity of the airport has to be proactively managed to minimize the risk to aviation,” a Dublin Airport Authority official told the Times.
Wildlife and engines famously came together in January 2009 when a “bird strike” near LaGuardia Airport caused U.S. Airways captain Chesley Sullenberger to land his Airbus A320 in the frigid Hudson River with 155 people on board. Sullenberger was immortalized by the 2016 Clint Eastwood biopic “Sully,” in which the 68-year-old former captain is played by Tom Hanks.
Poor bunnies.
