Coyotes at Chicago's O'Hare cause delays
By Judy Keen, USA TODAY
CHICAGO — Two planes preparing to land at O'Hare International Airport aborted their landings after another pilot spotted coyotes near the runway, the Federal Aviation Administration said Tuesday.
The flights, operated by United and American airlines, did "go-arounds" and landed safely on their second attempts on Sunday, said FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro.
The pilots were about a quarter-mile from O'Hare with their landing gear down when they were warned, Molinaro said. The pilot of a flight landing ahead of them saw the coyotes and alerted controllers.
"We don't want to take any chances," Molinaro said. One pilot told his passengers why he had to make a second attempt at landing.
The FAA said reports of planes hitting wildlife quadrupled from 1,744 in 1990 to 7,136 in 2005 because there are more flights, more wildlife near airports and more reports from pilots. In the same period, 172 people were injured and nine died in such incidents, which resulted in $233 million in losses.
Even in urban areas, it's not unusual for coyotes to end up on runways. They're seen at O'Hare once or twice a week, Molinaro said. Of 198 coyotes hit by planes from 1990 to 2005, 23 were in Illinois.
"Coyotes know how to make a living in the urban environment," said Bill Stanley, collection manager for mammals at Chicago's Field Museum. Fewer coyotes are hunted and trapped, he said, and they are venturing closer to cities to hunt rabbits, birds and raccoons.
They frequent forest preserves and dumps that might be close to airports, Stanley said.
Coyotes are usually scared off when airport workers drive toward them, said O'Hare spokeswoman Wendy Abrams. The best way to keep them away is "ensuring that the airport's perimeter is secure" by maintaining fences so coyotes can't burrow under them, she said.
Coyotes, which can weigh as much as 50 pounds, can cause significant damage to aircraft. In October 2005, a 19-passenger Beechcraft 1900 turboprop hit a coyote on takeoff at the Ogdensburg, N.Y., airport. The nose gear collapsed, and the plane skidded to a stop. It was declared a total loss, according to FAA records.
Birds are responsible for more than 97% of mishaps involving airplanes and wildlife, the FAA said.
Stanley said coyotes are moving deeper into the city and breeding with dogs. One was recently hit by a car near the Art Institute of Chicago, which is in the heart of downtown, he said, and drowned coyotes have been found on Lake Michigan beaches north of the city.
ANIMALS IN THE FLIGHTPATH
Airplanes struck wildlife 66,392 times in the USA from 1990 to 2005. More than 97% of those incidents involved birds. A sampling of strikes involving other animals:
White-tailed deer: 652
Coyotes: 198
Alligators: 14
House cats: 11
Moose: 3
Source: Federal Aviation Administration
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