Detailed Analysis of Bird Strike Data for ITECH1103 Group Assignment

This report presents a comprehensive analysis of bird strike data, focusing on key aspects such as the phases of flight most prone to strikes, the species involved, and the associated costs. The analysis utilizes techniques like cluster analysis, crosstabs, and geomaps to identify patterns and trends. Findings reveal that bird strikes are most likely during takeoff, initial climb, approach, and landing phases. The report examines the impact of pilot warnings, altitude bins, and airline operators. It also highlights the most costly species and the relationship between origin states and sky conditions. The conclusion emphasizes the severity of bird strikes for the aviation industry and the need for effective solutions. The report is based on the group assignment for the ITECH1103 Big Data and Analytics course, which involved the use of SAS Visual Analytics to explore and visualize the dataset to provide insights, patterns and trends.

uck Rate – Phase of Flight
Bird strikes may occur
during any phase of flight
but are most likely during
the take-off, initial climb,
approach and landing
phases due to the greater
numbers of birds fly at
lower levels.
Group Member 1: Finding -1

ANALYSIS &
RECOMMENDATIONS
A cluster analysis on the two variables time out of
service and total cost.
Explanation
By performing a cluster analysis on the two variables time out
of service and total cost, it can be concluded that cost aircraft
time out of service (in hours) cluster is much differently spread
as compared to the clustering due to the total cost.

Proportion (percentage) of bird strikes
involved medium and large wildlife
3
By reference to the above graphs,
the percentage of bird strike
involving medium and large wildlife
is 38.24% and 6.38 % respectively.

Investigate using a crosstab for the data
values Pilot warned of bird strike, Altitude
bin, and the total cost.
Explanation
4
Explanation
The figure above shows the crosstab
for the data values Pilot warned of
bird strike, Altitude bin, and the total
cost. Based on the results, when the
pilot is warned about the bird strike,
the total cost is less as compared to
when the pilot is not warned. For all
the cases, the altitude bin on the
other side is constant.

Group Member 5 –Finding 2 – Top Airlines and Their
Cost (Warning Altitude Bin)

Species involved in Bird Strikes
6
Explanation
Based on the Teradata analysis of our bird
strike data, there are a total of 602 distinct
species involved in bird strike. The table above
shows the number.

Where the data has been recorded,
percentage of the time & pilot warned of birds
or wildlife?
7
By analyzing the percentage of the time when
the pilot was warned of birds strike, the
histogram below shows that most of the pilots
were being warned about the incidences of
bird strikes with a percentage of about 66.01%

Geomap of the Bird Strike
Data
8
Explanation
Although there are more strikes on a cluster of
eastern states, the cost is relatively smaller than
other states
This visualization starts with California as
being the state with the highest cost and goes in
descending order
Size of state does not affect cost
The states known to attract more tourists
appear to have more cost from bird strikes

For the species Bald Eagle
and Canadian goose
9
Explanation
By analyzing the time of the two species
of the bird to examine the time of day
that bird strikes occur to see if there are
any differences between the two species,
it can be seen that most of the strikes
occur during day time. Also, there exist
more of the strikes due the Canadian
goose at night than the bald eagle.

The top five
airline/operators involved in
bird strikes
10
Explanation
In regard to the airline operators involved, the
following are top five;
1. Military
2. United Airlines
3. Southwest Airlines
4. Business
5. Fedex Express

proportion (percentage) of bird
strikes involved medium and
large wildlife
11
Explanation
By reference to the above graphs, the
percentage of bird strike involving
medium and large wildlife is 38.24%
and 6.38 % respectively.

Finding According to Origin States vs
Sky Conditions
12
California
Texas
Texas
Texas
California
California
Texas
Texas
No Cloud Some
Cloud
No Clouds Overcast Some
Clouds
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
30.89
24.59
10.83
0.21 0.73
8.21 8.09
0.22
S t r u ck % A cco r d in g t o S k y Co n d iti o n s in
Diff er en t S t at es
Group member 3 – finding
2