Coyotes Ugly up an O'Hare Runway

A United Airlines and then an American Airlines were waved off by a cowardly Coyote on 25 Feb. Neither crew saw the coyote(s) but were warned about them frolicking on the runway by an aircraft that had just landed. FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro said that coyotes are sighted on O'Hares' runways about twice a week. Coyotes are very adept at making a living within the urban environment. Maintaining fences so coyotes can't burrow under them seems to be the primary defense. Nationally, almost 200 of them had been hit by airplanes in the period 1990 to 2005, according to FAA records. The number of deer hits had been 3.5 times as many over that same period.

In October 2005, a 19-passenger Beechcraft 1900 turboprop was written off after being hit by a 50lb coyote on takeoff at the Ogdensburg, N.Y., airport. However even though a coyote can inflict severe damage to an aircraft on the ground, it's the airborne denizens that are responsible for 97% of aircraft versus wildlife incidents. Because of the higher speeds in airborne engagements, the birds also tend to do the most damage and are very susceptible to being sucked into jet intakes.