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Spatial analysis of Bird-Aircraft Strike Hazard for Moody Air Force Base aircraft in the state of Georgia.

Article Excerpt
ABSTRACT

Collisions between birds and aircraft are common at Moody Air Force Base (MAFB). The current study analyzes GPS coordinates of recorded strikes involving MAFB aircraft between January 1990 and August 2006. Results show that more strikes occur over publicly owned land; the majority of these strikes fall directly over the MAFB airfield. Further analysis of these data indicates that more strikes occur over privately owned land when the MAFB air space strikes are removed from consideration. The outcome reveals the need to further mitigate strikes during take-offs and landings, as well as research alternative low-level training routs in relation to seasonal migration paths, bird flight altitudes, and land cover.

Keywords: bird-strikes, Georgia, military aircraft, spatial analysis

INTRODUCTION

Collisions between birds and aircraft are common at Moody Air Force Base (MAFB) and around the nation, and referred to as Bird-Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH). Bats are flying mammals, but also are counted in bird strike data. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration received 57,702 bird-aircraft collision reports within the United States between 1990 and 2004 (1). According to the Bird Strike Committee USA website over $600 million worth of damage is done annually to military and commercial aircraft. More than 195 fatalities worldwide are attributed to aircraft wildlife strikes over the past 18 years (2). Between 1985 and 2001, wildlife strikes cost the United States Air Force (USAF) an average of $34 million per year with 20 aircraft destroyed and 32 human lives lost (3).

While extremely damaging collisions are rare at MAFB, costs sometimes exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars. Since 1990, 15 strikes have caused more than $10,000 in damage. Five of those were over $100,000. A MAFB training plane (T-38) struck a White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) in May 2005 causing nearly $300,000 worth of damage to the aircraft (Figure 1). Another T-38 struck a Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) in August of the same year causing $150,000 worth of damage. While MAFB has not had a fatal strike incident since 1987 (4) strikes...