It’s almost two years since US Airways Flight 1549 achieved its ‘miracle’ water landing in the Hudson River. In the time since, pilots Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger and Jeff Skiles have spoken before innumerable people to recount their experience. But last June, Skiles addressed a group that not only knows a lot about the bird strike hazard, but also has the wherewithal to do something about it. The 12th Annual Joint Meeting of the Bird Strike Committee USA/Canada convened in Salt Lake City in conjunction with the American Association of Airport Executives. They listened as Skiles recounted his experience, and then rolled up their sleeves to continue their work in minimizing the danger from birds around airports. The committee knows the dangers well, and part of the update involves reviewing the consequences of mixing bird and aircraft traffic. For example, the case of Flight 1549 on January 15, 2009 was just one of more than 9,000 wildlife strikes that year — most involving birds. No doubt, the loss of an entire Airbus airliner bumped up the dollar figure for last year, but long-term statistics show an average cost of $600 million per year from bird strike damage. And in 2008, the U.S. Air Force reported more than 5,000 wildlife strikes involving its aircraft.
The meeting last summer dealt primarily with the hazards of birds at low altitude, near airports. The science of mitigating the hazards of bird activity in this danger zone is well known and has been developed over many years. The problem? Airports are, by nature, attractive to birds. They offer wide expanses of open land, often with tall grass, making the birds safer from larger predators who would sneak up on them. Also, many airports are located close to landfills, where birds are wont to gather to feed. Not a good combination. Methods of discouraging birds from setting up housekeeping near airports include pyrotechnics, recorded distress cries, dogs and those dog silhouettes that are also used on golf courses and other areas where birds (and their droppings) are not welcome.
