-

 

Wildlife Hazard Mitigation


 

 

Aircraft and bird collisions are known as bird strikes and are a very severe threat to aviation safety. Bird strikes are nothing new to the aviation world. The first one was recorded in 1905 by the Wright brothers. The most famous one would be in 2009 when Captain Sullenberger landed US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River after striking a flock of Canadian geese resulting in dual engine thrust loss. (Strategies, n.d.)

 

According to the Bird Strike Committee that was founded in 1991, bird and other animal strikes cause approximately $650 million in damage annually to civilian and U.S. military aircraft every year. Bird strikes account for 97% of wildlife hazards. While mammals account for 2% and bats and other reptiles account for 1%. (Administration, 2022) The aviation bird-strike hazard is an industry, worldwide problem that affects everyone from pilots, mechanics, airport operators, wildlife analysts, and anyone to do within the aviation industry. (Strategies, n.d.)

 

To avoid any kind of bird strike situation, airports have wildlife management programs. These programs use research detection and modify habits to make the area around the airport less attractive for certain species based on data received from the National wildlife strike database. (Administration, 2022) A few ways management programs work are by habitat modification, active dispersal, trapping and relocation, and lastly lethal removal permitted by airport depredation permits. (Wildlife, n.d.)

 

14 CFR Part 139.337 details the airports obligation of how and when to conduct wildlife hazard assessments and how to create a plan. Advisory Circular 150/5200-32B deals with reporting and clarification for the wildlife strike reporting procedure. Advisory Circular 150-5200-38 is the protocol for the conduct and review of the wildlife site visits, wildlife hazard assessments, and plans. (Administration, 2022)

 

Drones are being utilized in new techniques for monitoring and detection to keep habitats from being appealing to birds and other animals. I think this is a great start and a great way to adapt to the new challenges as more data comes in to mitigate this issue. Bird strikes were lower on the list of environmental programs with the FAA, but in my opinion, it’s an important step as any that have been presented by the agency as it directly involves safety.

 


References

14 CFR § 139.337 - Wildlife hazard management. (n.d.). LII / Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/14/139.337

AC 150/5200-32B - Reporting Wildlife Aircraft Strikes – Document Information. (2022, December 7). https://www.faa.gov/airports/resources/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.current/documentnumber/150_5200-32

AC 150/5200-38 - Protocol for the Conduct and Review of Wildlife Hazard Site Visits, Wildlife Hazard Assessments, and Wildlife Hazard Management Plans. (n.d.). https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/advisory_circulars/index.cfm/go/document.information/documentid/1020779

Administration, F. A. (2022, October 12). FAA Wildlife Video. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2nuO4PZKF0&feature=youtu.be

Strategies for Prevention of Bird-Strike Events. (n.d.). https://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/2011_q3/4/

WILDLIFE HAZARD MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. (n.d.). http://www.flyrdm.com/?Wildlife-Management-Program

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Human Factors Challenge

-
Image
  Team-Based Human Factors Challenges        As we read from the FAA’s website about Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance, the FAA states, “Our research combines scientific understanding of human performance with applied studies conducted with industry partners. The results are solid science, psychology, and engineering delivered in plans, procedures, and software that can be immediately implemented to improve safety.” (Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance, n.d.) The last line about the software that can be implemented to improve safety brings up the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) tragedies that caused two catastrophic crashes, killing 346 people, and grounding Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 in the process.        In short, the MCAS was designed and released by Boeing for the new MAX 8. Due to the larger engines on the MAX 8, the engines were installed forward and higher than the previous positions. The engine housings create more lift, especially at high pitch
Read more

The End of Spirit

-
Image
  The End of Spirit      Spirit Airlines is expected to have a deal completed in the first half of 2024 with JetBlue Airways, in an attempt to compete with larger U.S. carriers with low fares. (Sampson, 2022)  Spirit has been one of the leaders of low budget flights for some time now, but after what seems to be poorly applied ethics in reference to their business decisions, this will no longer be the case. Examples range from distasteful promotions , to taking away previous liberties from their customers, all for the attention and free press.   I chose this article because I see it is a direct reflection on bad ethics. Bad business practices over the course of Spirit’s history seem to be their curtain call. They changed leadership in 2016 in an attempt to overcome their troubled history, and that did vastly improve their ranking as far as on-time from dead last, all the way to fourth within two years. (Sampson, 2022)  That trajectory did not last, however. They’re not the only ai
Read more

Aviation Flu

-
Image
  Aviation Flu   Most of us understand how aircraft fly. Thrust, drag, lift, and weight. The engines must create enough force to move the aircraft against the opposing drag force, and enough lift must be generated to overcome the mass of the vehicle and achieve liftoff. (Neistein, M. 2022). There is however, one variable that can’t be controlled: air density. In hotter temperatures, air is less dense, making it more difficult for aircraft to takeoff.   The issue at hand is the overall climate and the temperatures becoming hotter. There have been a few instances in recent years where airliners had to alter the weight of the aircraft by decreasing the amount of passengers on certain flights. Alternate methods have been outright canceling flights in Las Vegas last year, and Phoenix in 2017 because the temperatures have been too hot. Let’s also be aware of the impact it has on the runways when temperatures basically cause
Read more