RJA #3a: Research Topic Exploration

Birdstrike.org

219 people have been killed as a result of bird strikes since 1988. On average bird strikes cause about $600 million dollars in damage in the U.S. annually. Bird Strike Committee USA was formed in 1991 to facilitate the exchange of information, promote the collection and analysis of accurate wildlife strike data, promote the development of new technologies for reducing wildlife hazards, promote professionalism in wildlife management programs on airports through training and advocacy of high standards of conduct for airport biologists and bird patrol personnel, and be a liaison to similar organizations in other countries.

Airplanes.com/blog/airport-bird-strike-prevention-techniques

There is no standard procedure in order to prevent bird strikes from occurring. The basic principal to eliminating bird strikes is to control the bird population around an airport. A bird weighing more than 2 kilograms (4.5 pounds) is considered a high risk to airplanes. Contractors actively deter or remove birds from high risk areas using recorded distress calls, pyrotechnics or even live ammunition. These techniques have different levels of success depending on the environment and the bird species involved.

Birdradar.com

Advanced bird radars have been used by NASA and the U.S. military since 2003 and can be installed at commercial airports today to immediately improve passenger and aircrew safety. Bird radars that have long been used to protect U.S. military pilots and aircrews and the $2 billion space shuttle from bird strikes. The real time information from systems already on the commercial market today can provide improved information and automatic warnings to air traffic controllers. oreign airports in Europe and Asia in the aftermath of the January 2009 US Airways flight 1549 of are aggressively moving ahead to competitively acquire and install bird radars on a fast track and U.S. airports are rapidly being left behind.

Birdstrikecontrol.com

Pulsating lights could be one solution to keep birds away from airplanes as officials investigate new ways to reduce the chances of bird strikes at airports across the nation. In addition to pulsating lights, officials are trying to deter bird-attracting earthworms from crawling onto runways after it rains.

USAtoday.com

Nationwide, airplane collisions with birds or other animals have destroyed 28 aircraft since 2000, according to Federal Aviation Administration data released in April. In January, a US Airways jet ditched in New York's Hudson River after bird strikes knocked out both of its engines. All 155 passengers survived. Airport officials say they try to make the airport as unattractive as possible to animals to keep them away, including building fences, planting grasses that some birds don't like and covering water features with nets. Most of the birds hit are gulls.