Mile-high madness disrupts flights

Airline passengers applying nail polish remover and using hairspray in aircraft toilets have disrupted flights in recent months, aviation safety reports show.

And flight crews confiscated a toy cap gun and a lighter in the shape of a weapon from passenger bags brought on-board.

Dozens of incidents each week are logged on the Australian Transport Safety Bureau aviation safety database, with the single most common occurrence being a bird or animal strike.

Galahs, hawks, flying foxes, magpie larks, ducks, owls, bandicoots, wallabies and echidnas have met with grief after being sucked into engines or being hit by aircraft on runways, according to a Herald Sun analysis of reports during the past six months.

On July 20, a Piper aircraft taking off from Moorabbin was struck by a flock of seagulls and had to return to the airport.

More than 1300 wildlife incidents were reported to the ATSB in 2012, mainly involving birdstrikes, which have doubled over the past decade due to the big increase in aircraft movements.

Plovers, bats, galahs, kites, kestrels, hawks, swallows, flying foxes and magpies were the most common victims identified.

There were 15 animal strikes reported last year, with rabbits, hares, foxes and kangaroos the most common species, says a separate ATSB report.

"In recent years, the ATSB, airport and airline operators have worked together to improve reporting processes for confirmed and suspected birdstrikes," it said.

The safety database shows that several crew members were injured due to turbulence and some pilots were affected by lasers pointed at cockpits over the last six months.

Passengers using or having leaking nail polish remover caused fumes in aircraft cabins while a passenger using hairspray in a toilet set the smoke alarm off during a descent to Sydney in May.

On July 20, the crew of a Boeing 737 jet confiscated a toy cap gun found in a child's carry on bag.

Dangerous goods checked in but not declared included a chainsaw containing fuel, liquid nitrogen and lithium batteries.

In 2012, there were 107 accidents, 195 serious incidents and over 7300 incidents reported to the ATSB.

Commercial transport aircraft were involved in the majority of incidents, the most common being animal strikes, noncompliance with published information or air traffic control instructions, and aircraft system and airframe issues.

Source:   http://www.heraldsun.com.au