A second vital factor was cited by Stan Brown, of the Aerodrome Standards Division. "We believe that one of the UK's major airlines experiences more bird strikes in a month than it reports to the CAA in a whole year." "It is vitally important that controllers, pilots and airport staff report incidents to the CAA. Without accurate data, it is impossible to assess the threat birds pose, and it is also difficult to convince outside the industry to take action." Brown added: "During the five years the committee did not meet, the CAA and others have been extremely - active - in trying to reduce the number of UK bird strikes. There have been various initiatives which the CAA is aware of, but which may not have been shared among all those actively involved in the reduction of bird strikes. Through the committee there can be much greater communication and also a pooling of efforts to increase safety."
A CAA spokesmen confirmed that it is not obligatory to report, birdstrikes but that damage to any UK-registered 11 aircraft, however caused, must be reported.
The committee met at the CAAs Safety Regulation Group at Gatwick on 29 November. Among approximately 20 attendees were representatives from the Airport Operators' Association, BAA, the British Airline Pilots Association, Ministry of Defence, Department of Transport.
Despite improved bird management efforts at airports, bird strikes are still a risk throughout the world. There have been several high-profile incidents involving airliners in the last five years that highlight many of the issues to be tackled. In September 1998 a Bocing 767 arriving at Heathrow was hit by at least 30 geese,causing damage to the,aircraft's left wing, nose and left engine. Among the areas that the committee is keen to tackle are:
- Landfill sites and other off-airfield attractions for birds
- Increased reporting of incidents within the industry
- Greater awareness by local authorities of the risks posed by birds near airports
- Extra controls through planning measures; and
- New procedures for airports to 'safeguard' their surroundings.
The lack of awareness of the bird strike threat and the low-level of incident reporting are two of the first issues the committee wants to address. Another area of significant concern to the CAA is the increase in incidents involving large waterfowl. Better airfield bird management and safeguarding has seen a reduction in the threat of other, smaller birds. However the growing population of waterfowl and number of wetlands around airports poses an increased risk. The committee agreed the need to highlight and combat the risks posed by bird strikes in the UK, and will now work on combined series of measures. Future meetings are expected to be held quarterly.
Knowledge is key
Kevin Harraughty, of Safeskys' Bird Control Unit at Inverness airport notes there are several methods of ,controlling' birds on an airport. The term 'controlling' rather than 'scaring' is used as there is a difference. "Some airports misuse their Rescue/Fire Fighting Services while others give the job to unenthusiastic ops staff." Inverness features a dedicated team of bird control operators who have studied the birds and wildlife in the vicinity" They know the habitat of the birds and their environment and fully understand their behaviour, habits, attractants and fears, and how to remove their presence and deter them from approaching the airport." Harraughty argues: "It is easy for people with little or no knowledge about birds and their habits underestimate the job as a mundane, day-to-day task requiring little thought." Greenhunter managing director Mark Colvin highlighted one of the committee's areas of anxiety."
Airfield bird scaring and control is a relatively mature science. However, due to either lack of funding, lack of focus or ignorance of the true risks, many airfields do not take full responsibility for the management of the hazard offsite. The control, management and auditing of bird populations 'offairfield' is just as important as control activities on the airfield." In order for an airport authority to exhibit 'due diligence' in relation to birdstrike risk, it must know the numbers, species and risks presented by the birds that live, feed, breed or roost in the vicinity of the aerodrome. Colvin says, "Off airfield control is generally best carried out by experienced contractors with direct input from the airfield's bird management team. This strategy has benefits in that the contractor has the experience, manpower and equipment to undertake specialist control measures and to deal with specific issues such as egg management, licensing, law, education, public relations, auditing, culling, trapping and environmental management."
Another benefit of this strategy, Colvin argues, is that since the contractor is a qualified and experienced supplier of services, he is generally more acceptable to the public where the measures taken may conflict with local interests, such as ornithology or game shooting. "Unfocused control tends not to stand up to scrutiny and usually results in adverse public opinion." Identifying hotspots One approach to the issue is the 'clickairport BIRDS' system which has been on trial at Edinburgh since start of December. Dan Leigh, marketing director of manufacturer Micro90, says the two-phase trial will cover the datacapture process and the reporting process.
The system permits airfield personnel to record bird movements in and around the airfield through simple observations which are entered on a hand-held wireless PDA computer including an airfield map. Once within range of the wireless connection, the master database is uploaded automatically. The data can then be formed into a series of graphical and textual management reports. Data can be collated over any period from any selected area to show full activities, with comparisons made against days, weeks, months, years, times, different types of weather, season, movement patterns and even species type, to identify 'hotspot' areas in and around the airfield. Leigh said Micro90 was getting positive feedback with enquiries from both civil and military aviation authorities such as the US Air Force, the MoD, BAA and also internationally from Portugal and France. The company aims to bring the product to market in February 2002 and is now working in partnership with Scarecrow Bio-acoustic Systems to develop innovative solutions to capture data from airfields for bird dispersal and control.