Four of the leading specialists in airport bird management and safety - QinetiQ, Scarecrow Bio-Acoustic Systems, NH Bird Management and ClickAirport - have launched a new initiative to raise awareness of best practice in bird and debris control processes offered by new and emerging technology.
In an open letter to the Civil Aviation Industry, the Group highlights its belief that many airlines, tour operators, insurance companies, regulators, industry associations, lawyers and risk consultants are unaware of the latest forms of available technology. In some areas there is also a reluctance both to implement these newer systems and to restrict aircraft from operating in high risk areas, suggesting that flight safety may be being compromised unnecessarily.
The Group's aspiration to increase awareness is shared by the Civil Aviation Authority. In a recent article in Airport Operator, Sandy Sawyer, Flight Standards Officer, Aerodrome Standards Department of the CAA, commented that, with an increase in the number of birdstrike occurrences, it was becoming increasingly important for the CAA to obtain a more accurate record of total bird strikes. This will be facilitated by the introduction of an amendment to the Air Navigation Order expected by the end of 2003. This in turn will enable the CAA to offer comprehensive advice on bird control processes, and aid research into the development of engines capable of resisting serious birdstrike.
Anthony Walker, Chief Executive of Scarecrow Bio-Acoustic Systems and a member of FAC, comments: "We are calling on all organisations in the civil aviation industry to consider their assessment procedures for ensuring their contribution to flight safety and to ensure that they meet the standards of current best practice in airport bird management. It is important to recognise, however, that no single action will make an airport less attractive to birds, no single dispersal method will prompt all birds to fly away, and there is no single system which will be 100% effective all of the time."
"Operators need to implement a fully functional integrated bird management system, for example bio-acoustic products which make use of bird distress calls, in conjunction with other dispersal means and best practice for 100% dispersal, thereby significantly improving the chances of birdstrike avoidance and the potentially disastrous consequences of failing to do so."