Headquarters U.S. Air Force
Integrity - Service - Excellence
Bird/Wildlife Aircraft
Strike Hazards
Donald Teig
HQ AFCESA/CEOA
US Airways Flight 1549
AP photo
15 January 2009 in the Hudson River
Integrity - Service - Excellence
Integrity - Service - Excellence
Objective
Introduce you to basic BASH
information so you have an
understanding of potential
wildlife hazards at your base.
Integrity - Service - Excellence
Overview





Awareness
Identifying the Problem
Dealing With the Problem
Engineer’s Role
Safety’s Role
Integrity - Service - Excellence
19
85
19
86
19
87
19
88
19
89
19
90
19
91
19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06
Integrity - Service - Excellence
16
.2
25
.8
38
34
48
40
39
89
52
81
50
10
6000
0
250
200
150
100
50
0
Cost in millions
46
73
43
18
Count
Cost
53
.3
13
.4
1
10
.5
4 54
.9
8
34
.0
6
33
65
31
14
27
39
35
23
62
72,827 Wildlife Strikes
10
.3
4
25
.5
5
29
.9
4
22
89
24
41
23
85
26
27
72
29
56
4000
7.
5
90
.6
9
2000
16
.8
3
17
.9
5
24
.5
1
9.
51
24
.8
8
1000
7.
8
4
24
0.
05
5000
27
29
26
49
30
72
28
53
27
19
3000
18
.0
8
5.
45
Count
Statistics (1985 – 2006)
$740,786,928 Damage
20 Year Average (86-06) - $35.0M, 3338 Strikes
300
Statistics (1985 – 2006)
Count
AIRFIELD
• 35,453 strikes (48%)
• $248,347,481 (32%)
LOW-LEVEL / RANGE
• 10,364 strikes (14%)
• $490,693,694 (62%)
OTHER
• 28,273 strikes (38%)
• $46,171,694 (6%)
Integrity - Service - Excellence
Cost
Statistics (1985 – 2006)
Strikes Per Month
Jan
2442
3%
Feb
2448
3%
Mar
4087
6%
Mar
Apr
6632
9%
Apr
May
8159
11%
May
Jan
Feb
Spring
Migration
Jun
Jun
5465
8%
Jul
6987
10%
Aug
8834
12%
Sep
Sep
9673
13%
Oct
Oct
10294
14%
Nov
2515
7%
Dec
2480
3%
Jul
Aug
Fall
Migration
Nov
Dec
0
5000
10000
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Strikes By Altitude
14,000
12,000
10,000
8,000
≤ 500’ AGL, 64%
≤ 1000’ AGL, 79%
≤ 2000’ AGL, 92%
6,000
4,000
2,000
0
20
0
40
0
60
0
80
0
10
00
20
00
30
00
40
00
50
00
70
00
90
00
15
00
0
0
Altitude – Feet AGL
Integrity - Service - Excellence
Strikes By Species (Count)
Horned Lark
American Mourning Dove
Perching Birds
Barn Swallow/Swallow
Eastern Meadowlark
Killdeer
American Robin
Chimney Swift
American Kestrel
Red-Tailed Hawk
TOTAL
2989
2497
2282
1745
1159
1114
976
901
884
781
$5,760,469.00
$9,520,849.00
$2,832,685.00
$11,272,852.00
$2,236,361.00
$3,967,949.00
$1,999,171.00
$843,034.00
$1,103,388.00
$13,535,102.00
15328
$53,071,860.00
Integrity - Service - Excellence
Strikes By Species (Cost)
COMMON NAME
American White Pelican
Canada Goose
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Spot-billed Duck
Red-tailed Hawk
Barn Swallow/Swallow
Dark-eyed Junco
American Mourning Dove
Snow Goose
TOTAL
# OF STRIKES
18
129
403
776
13
781
1745
100
2497
73
COST
$257,628,460.00
$92,328,526.00
$54,355,588.00
$51,708,040.00
$24,920,198.00
$13,353,120.00
$11,272,852.00
$10,043,181.00
$9,520,849.00
$6,317,841.00
6535
$531,448,655.00
Integrity - Service - Excellence
BASH Examples
Size Doesn’t
Always Matter
F-16 Target Pod
White-Throated
Swift
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BASH Examples
Damage to fan
blades and canopy
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BASH Examples
Props Don’t
Necessarily Stop
Engine Ingestions
C-130
American Robin
$495K Damage
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BASH Examples
Radome
Damage
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BASH Examples
Rotary Winged
Aircraft Aren’t
Immune
US Marine Corps
Cobra
Golden Eagle
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BASH Examples
BASH Isn’t Just
For The Birds
White-tailed Deer
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Identifying the Problem

Strike Reporting

Wildlife Identifications

Observations / Surveys

Nighttime Hazards
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Wildlife Identifications
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION
National Museum of Natural History
Feather Identification
 OVER HALF OF ALL BIRD
STRIKES ARE IDENTIFIED
 EXPERTS ARE AT THE
SMITHSONIAN
 ACCESS TO OVER
650,000 SPECIMENS
Red-tailed Hawks
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Observations / Surveys
Plot Potential
Trouble Areas
(on & off base)
directly on a
Geographic
Information
System (GIS)
Map
AOC
FULL EXTENT
Areas of Concern
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Nighttime Hazards
Wildlife Hazards To Night Flying



Non-migration
 Insectivores
 Owls
Migration
 Passerines (Songbirds)
 Waterfowl
 Can be flying at fairly high altitudes
Mammals
 Bats, deer, and coyote
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Dealing with the Problem

Exclude / Mitigate

Harass

Depredate

Avoid
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Exclude / Mitigate
Ecosystem
Management
•
•
•
•
GRASS HEIGHT (7-14 inches)
NO BARE AREAS
ELIMINATE BROAD-LEAF PLANTS
AVOID WEED SEED HEADS
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Exclude / Mitigate
Cattle Egret
(Bubulcus ibis)
MOW DURING LOW FLYING
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Exclude / Mitigate
Maintain
Good
Airfield
Drainage
ELIMINATE STANDING WATER
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Exclude / Mitigate
•
•
DO NOT FEED THE WATERFOWL
FENCE OR GRID SMALL PONDS
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Exclude / Mitigate
Fencing
Best
Deterrent
to Deer
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Exclude / Mitigate
Don’t Give
Them a
Reason to
be There
REMOVE PERCHES
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Exclude / Mitigate
Crops
Around
Your Airfield
MANAGE OUTLEASING WISELY - No Grain Crops
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Harass
Harassment
Tools
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Harass
Be aware of
other activities
around the
airfield when
harassment
activities are
taking place
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Depredate
Depredation

When all else
fails…..



Use only after other methods have
been employed
Permits, Permits, Permits
US Fish & Wildlife Service
State Game Department
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Avoid
Bird Avoidance
Model (BAM)
Avian Hazard
Advisory
System
(AHAS)
Small Mobile
Radar (SMR)
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Dealing
Bird Avoidance Model
BAM

Data
Geographic
Information
System-based

30+ Years of
Top 60
Species


Web Based
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Dealing
Small Mobile Radar
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Dealing
BASH Problem

The Safety Office is responsible

Cross-functional participation

Safety (SE)

Civil Engineering (CE)

Judge Advocate General (JAG)

Public Affairs (PA)

Director of Operations (DO)

Logistics (LG)
Integrity - Service - Excellence
Safety Responsibilities
Installation Safety Office:

Establish a BASH Plan

Establish Bird Hazard Working Group, (BHWG)

Establish procedures for wildlife control

Develop a Bird Hazard Warning System

Designate Phase I / II periods of bird activity
Integrity - Service - Excellence
Safety Responsibilities
BASH Plan

“Flight safety office will establish the BASH
plan, defining the nature and extent of wildlife
hazards and implementation of the plan”

Living document

Use Bird Hazard Working Group as forum for
revising plan

Responsibilities of each organization spelled
out clearly
Integrity - Service - Excellence
Safety Responsibilities
Bird Hazard Working Group





Consists of organizations involved in airfield bird
control, habitat management, operations, and
safety
Meet at least semi-annually
Maintain minutes
Vice wing commander chairs meetings
Forum to discuss budgeting and all airfield
projects and how they impact BASH
Integrity - Service - Excellence
Safety Responsibilities
Wildlife Control

Internal Manpower

Which agency is responsible for
harassment and/or depredation
 Equipment

Contract Manpower

US Department of Agriculture/Wildlife
Services
– depredation, harassment, surveys …..
Airports are not
Wildlife Refuges
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Sunrise/Sunset
Flying one hour before and
after dawn or dusk should be
avoided unless absolutely
necessary. The highest levels
of bird activity normally occur
during these hours as birds
leave and return to their roost.
Avoiding flight operations
during these periods can
significantly reduce the chance
of a birdstrike.
Integrity - Service - Excellence
Other Solutions
Vulture
roost less
than 2
nautical
miles from
the runway
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Other Solutions
A Taxidermy Mount
Of a Dead Vulture
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DoD BASH POC’s
AIR FORCE:
• Mr. Eugene LeBoeuf, DSN 246-5679
eugene.leboeuf@kirtland.af.mil
NAVY:
• Mr. Matthew Klope, (360) 257-1468
matt.klope@navy.mil
ARMY:
• Mr. Kevin Walter, (703) 805-3969
kevin.walter2@us.army.mil
Integrity - Service - Excellence
FAA Guidance

Advisory Circular 150/5200-33


Federal Aviation Regulation Part 139, Sec. 139.337


RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAA AND USDA/WILDLIFE SERVICES
Certification Alert 97-05


CERTIFICATION AND OPERATIONS: LAND AIRPORTS SERVING
CERTAIN AIR CARRIERS
Certification Alert 97-02


FAA ADVISORY CIRCULAR: HAZARDOUS WILDLIFE ATTRACTANTS ON
OR NEAR AIRPORTS
GRASS ATTRACTIVE TO HAZARDOUS WILDLIFE
Certification Alert 97-09

WILDLIFE HAZARD MANAGEMENT PLAN OUTLINE
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USAF Guidance
AFI 91-202 (Chapter 7.11) The US Air Force Mishap Prevention
Program 1 Aug 98
 AFI 91-204 (Chapters 1.10.5.3 and 3.1) Safety Investigations and
Reports (Bird Strike Reporting) 24 Sep 08
AFMAN 91-223 (Chapters 1.3, 1.3.1.9 and 5.4.2) Aviation Safety
Investigations and Reports 6 Jul 04
AFPAM 91-212 Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) Management
Techniques 1 Feb 04
AFI 32-7064 Integrated Natural Resources Management 17 Sep 04
AFI 32-7061 Environmental Impact Analysis Process 2 Mar 03
AFI 13-213 Airfield Management 8 Dec 05
AFI 21-201 Management and Maintenance of Non-Nuclear
Munitions 10 Feb 05
Integrity - Service - Excellence
Navy Guidance
OPNAVINST 5909.1B CH-3: Environmental and Natural
Resources Program Manual
NAVFAC P-73 Procedural Manual, Volume II
OPNAVINST 3750.6R Chg 1: Naval Aviation Safety
Program
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References

USAF BASH Team Web Site
www.afsafety.af.mil/AFSC/Bash/home.html

USAF BAM / AHAS Web Site
www.usahas.com

Federal Aviation Administration BASH Web
Site
www.wildlife-mitigation.tc.faa.gov/public_html/index.html
Integrity - Service - Excellence
QUESTIONS?
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