Background
The FAA’s wildlife hazardmanagement program has been in place for more than 50 years and focuses on mitigating wildlife hazards on or near airports through habitat modification, harassment technology, and research.
FAA Wildlife Hazard Mitigation Efforts
The FAA has a number of initiatives underway, including:
Wildlife Strike Awareness Posters
To encourage and increase wildlife strike reporting in the general aviation (GA) community, the FAA’s Office of Airports developed a “Report Wildlife Strikes” awareness poster 2011. As part of the outreach effort, the FAA printed and distributed approximately 12,000 posters. The posters went to general aviation airports, aviation schools, other organizations and associations, and Part 139 certificated airports. Part 139 airports receive an operating certificate from the FAA because they operate with an increased level of oversight and safety.
Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports
The Office of Airports encourages GA airports to conduct Wildlife Hazard Assessments to determine what, if any, wildlife mitigation is needed. The FAA may support GA airports by making Airport Improvement Program grants available to conduct an assessment.
Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Reports
The FAA provided funding and expertise for two Airport Cooperative Research Program reports, Bird Harassment, Repellent, and Deterrent Techniques for Use on and Near Airports (2011) and Guidebook for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports (2010). The reports are available on http://wildlife.faa.gov.
National Wildlife Strike Database Goes Public
On April 24, 2009, the FAA made its entire bird strike database available to the public. Over the last three years the FAA has received 29,548 strike reports – 9,539 in 2009; 9.919 in 2010; and 10,090 in 2011.
Wildlife Hazard Assessments
The FAA initiated rulemaking to make assessments mandatory whether or not an airport has had a triggering event. The FAA plans to publish a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking later this year for certificated airports.
Level of Reporting and Mandatory Reporting
Dr. Richard Dolbeer, a wildlife hazard mitigation expert, conducted a study for the FAA and issued a report in December 2009. The reported estimated that the number of reported strikes has increased from 20 percent during the period from 1990-1994 to 39 percent from 2004-2008 at certificated airports because of professionally-run wildlife hazard programs. Dolbeer determined the current level of reporting (39 percent) is statistically valid and is sufficient for the FAA to develop national trends and mitigation policies, making mandatory reporting unnecessary.
Redesigned Web Site
The FAA redesigned the wildlife hazard web site to make it more user-friendly and to allow more advanced data mining. The site, http://wildlife.faa.gov, has search fields that enable users to find data on specific airports.
Online Strike Reporting
The FAA developed mobile application software to make strike reporting easier. The FAA also placed a Quick Response (QR) code scanner on the bottom of the 2011 “Report Wildlife Strikes” for smart phone users who have the QR application. Now, anyone can report a wildlife strike via the web or their personal data device.
Continuing Wildlife Hazard Efforts
Avian or Bird Radar Technology
In 2006, the FAA tasked the Center of Excellence for Airport Technology (CEAT) at the University of Illinois to develop and execute a performance assessment for commercially available avian radar. The FAA deployed the initial avian radar systems at Seattle-Tacoma and Whidbey Island Naval Station in 2007, Chicago O’Hare in 2009, and John F. Kennedy and Dallas-Fort Worth in 2010. The FAA continues to evaluate the performance of bird radar systems through its multi-year agreement with the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Wildlife Research Center, the National Center of Atmospheric Research, and Indiana State University.
FAA-Smithsonian Interagency Agreement
The Smithsonian identifies the bird species from remains after a strike. Bird identification helps airfield personnel implement habitat management programs and provides information so aircraft manufacturers can better design engines and aircraft to withstand the impact of likely bird collisions. The FAA provides financial support to the Smithsonian to identify bird remains from civil aviation bird strikes as a free-of-charge service to any U.S. registered aircraft, regardless of where the strike occurred, and foreign carriers if the strike occurred at a U.S. airport.
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
The FAA and the USDA collaborate on research to make airports safer by reducing the risks of aircraft-wildlife collisions.
FAA Partnerships and Outreach
Bird Strike Committee USA
The FAA co-sponsors the Bird Strike Committee-USA as part of its continued public outreach and education effort to increase awareness within the aviation community about wildlife hazards.
