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Airport Wildlife Hazard Abatement The FAA’s Integrated Approach
The FAA is fully aware of the situation and is undertaking an aggressive research program. The goal of the program is to mitigate wildlife strikes with aircraft by providing practical solutions as well as real-time critical information to pilots and airport managers. The critical information will consist of:
This is a long-term effort that requires research at various levels (local, regional and national). Collection of data and of information must be integrated into a user-friendly system that can easily be used. Approach The research work can be categorized into the following areas: Habitat Studies – to understand the habitat of problem species such as black birds, birds of prey, rodents and large mammals. Detection Methods – to provide the airport community with a set of tools to detect wildlife at critical times of the year. Wildlife Management Techniques – to provide the airport community with a set of passive and active methods to manage wildlife at airports. Systems Integration – to understand and predict the potential for wildlife strikes at the airport level using information collected at the regional and national level (such as migratory paths). For more information on this research program, access to the Bird Strike Reporting Form, and other relevant links, please click on the following link: FAA Official Wildlife Mitigation Web Site Contact Project Lead: Ryan King
Last Update:10/16/07 |
Presence of wildlife on and near airports creates a hazard to operating aircraft. It is estimated that 75 percent of all
civil aviation air strikes occur near airports. Wildlife strikes, mainly from birds, cause
severe damage to operating aircraft and in some cases lead to loss of life. In recent
years due to increase in passenger traffic, the introduction of much quieter engines on
newer planes and a large increase in wildlife population, the probability of wildlife
strikes has increased dramatically.