Russia’s PD-8 engine passes a brutal bird-strike test for the Superjet Engine kept running at full thrust after ingesting a simulated flock of birds during certification trials No live birds were harmed during the test | Michael Vincent

Jet engines are tested for bird strikes through a brutal but controlled process called bird ingestion testing or bird strike certification. Here’s how it works: Engines are mounted on a static test rig and spun up to full power. Then, at specific moments, dead birds (usually chickens, geese, or other fowl) are launched into the engine using a compressed-air cannon. The birds are typically fired frozen or thawed, depending on the test conditions. The goal is to simulate what would happen if a bir