National Academies Press: OpenBook

Guidebook for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports (2010)

Chapter: How to Use This Guidebook, and an Introduction to Controlling Hazardous Wildlife at General Aviation Airports

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Suggested Citation:"How to Use This Guidebook, and an Introduction to Controlling Hazardous Wildlife at General Aviation Airports." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Guidebook for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22949.
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Suggested Citation:"How to Use This Guidebook, and an Introduction to Controlling Hazardous Wildlife at General Aviation Airports." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Guidebook for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22949.
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Suggested Citation:"How to Use This Guidebook, and an Introduction to Controlling Hazardous Wildlife at General Aviation Airports." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Guidebook for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22949.
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Suggested Citation:"How to Use This Guidebook, and an Introduction to Controlling Hazardous Wildlife at General Aviation Airports." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Guidebook for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22949.
×
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Suggested Citation:"How to Use This Guidebook, and an Introduction to Controlling Hazardous Wildlife at General Aviation Airports." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2010. Guidebook for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22949.
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Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

Guidebook Purpose and Design This guidebook specifically addresses the following issues: • Identifying hazardous wildlife, the problems they cause at general aviation (GA) airports, and methods for dealing with those problems; and • Establishing wildlife hazard control programs at GA airports, evaluating the effectiveness of a wildlife hazard control program, and training airport personnel. 1 How to Use This Guidebook, and an Introduction to Controlling Hazardous Wildlife at General Aviation Airports Wildlife aircraft strikes have been occurring almost since the beginning of powered flight. The first reported bird strike occurred September 7, 1905. The first fatality (Calbraith Rogers) due to a bird strike occurred April 3, 1912. (Photo courtesy National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institu- tion, SI Neg. No. 2003-44325)

The guidebook is organized into three sections: Part 1 (Chapters 1, 2, and 3) is designed for airport personnel who want to know: • What kind of wildlife they are seeing at the airport, • What is attracting problem wildlife to the airport, and • How to get rid of problem wildlife. Part 2 (Chapters 4 to 8) is intended for airport managers who need information about how to set up and evaluate a wildlife hazard management program. Included in this section is a discussion of state and federal government agencies and regulations that can impact wildlife hazard control at GA airports. The appendices contain information such as: • Contact information for the Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Airports, Airports Division, Washington, DC, Headquarters and Regional Offices, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program, Washington, DC, Headquarters, Regional Offices, and State Directors. Both of these federal agencies can provide information and assistance for dealing with airport wildlife problems. • Web links to applicable FAA Advisory Circulars (ACs) and Certalerts. • Federal Aviation Administration Form 5200-7 Bird/Wildlife Strike Report. Introduction to the Problem The January 15, 2009, crash landing of US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River following ingestion of Canada geese into both of the plane’s engines graphically illustrates the importance of wildlife aircraft strike hazard management. The incident also raised the public’s awareness of the threat to aviation safety posed by wildlife at or near airports. For the first time, many people both in and out of the aviation community have become aware that birds can bring down an aircraft. However, this threat is not new. The first recorded bird strike occurred September 7, 1905, and the first recorded human death due to a bird strike occurred April 3, 1912. 2 Guidebook for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports This Cessna 206 struck a single vulture on takeoff from a south- ern U.S. airport. The bird penetrated the windshield, severely injuring the pilot.

Experts within the civil aviation community have long recognized that the threat to avia- tion safety and economic repercussions from collisions between aircraft and wildlife (com- monly referred to as “wildlife aircraft strikes” or “strikes”) is increasing (see for example Dolbeer 2000, Allan and Orosz 2001, MacKinnon, Sowden, and Dudley, 2001, Dolbeer and Eschenfelder 2003, Cleary and Dolbeer 2005, and Cleary et al. 2007). Several factors contribute to this increasing threat. The two most significant factors are: 1. There are a large number of GA aircraft and a high number of hours that GA aircraft are flown. GA aircraft account for approximately 75% of the U.S. civil aircraft fleet (The National Economic Impact of Civil Aviation 2002). GA air traffic has remained fairly steady over the last several years. Between 1991 and 2005, GA aircraft flew an average of 25.8 million hours per year. This ranged from a low of 22.2 million hours flown in 1994 to a high of 29.1 million hours in 2000 (Nall Report Accident Trends and Factors for 2000, Nall Report Accident Trends and Factors for 2005). 2. Populations of many wildlife species commonly involved in wildlife aircraft strikes are increasing. For example, white-tailed deer populations increased from a low of 0.3 mil- lion in 1900 to a conservatively estimated 20 million in 2006 (McCabe and McCabe 1997, Dolbeer personal communication 2008). The nonmigratory Canada goose population quadrupled in the United States between 1986 and 2002 (Sauer et al. 2006). Between January 1, 1990, and December 31, 2008, wildlife strikes caused damage to 10,352 U.S. civil aircraft; 2,700 of the strikes caused substantial damage, and 49 U.S. civil aircraft were destroyed due to wildlife strikes. Of the 49 strikes that resulted in loss of the aircraft, 33 (67%) occurred at a GA airport. Between January 1, 1990, and October 31, 2008, the FAA received 72 reports of wildlife strikes involving GA aircraft that resulted in 87 human injuries. During the same period, the FAA received six reports of wildlife strikes involving GA aircraft that resulted in 13 human deaths. The three most recent strikes causing human fatalities are: 1. The instructor pilot of a Cessna 172 and his student both died when the leading edge of the left wing of their aircraft hit what is believed to have been a black vulture at 800 ft above ground level (AGL) on July 8, 2003, in central Texas. The aircraft was not able to maintain lift and crashed. How to Use This Guidebook, and an Introduction to Controlling Hazardous Wildlife at General Aviation Airports 3 Birds are not the only animals to cause problems at GA airports. Between 1990 and 2007, mammal strikes accounted for 14% of all reported strikes occurring at GA airports. (Photo courtesy Royal Canadian Air Force)

2. A University of North Dakota instructor pilot and student pilot died October 23, 2007, when their Piper PA-44 Seminole crashed after striking what is believed to have been one or more Canada geese near Browerville, Minnesota. 3. Five people died March 4, 2008, in northwest Oklahoma City when their Cessna 500 Citation I struck an unknown number of white pelicans. These three fatal strikes occurred off the airport, while the aircraft was en route. All airports—GA and commercial—have a legal responsibility to provide a safe aircraft operating environment. This includes controlling hazardous wildlife problems as well as signing, marking and lighting, and removing ice and snow where required. In the United States, most funding, research, and regulatory efforts directed toward addressing the civil aviation wildlife strike problem come from the federal level, specifically the FAA. Congress has not given the FAA authority to inspect or license GA airports. Most of the FAA’s wildlife hazard research efforts are directed toward certificated airports. Little, if any, work has been done to analyze and understand the hazardous wildlife problems faced by the GA community. This guidebook presents information for airport personnel responsible for the day-to-day operations of a GA airport’s wildlife hazard control program. It also provides guidance for GA airport operators trying to develop and manage a wildlife hazard control program at their airport. Applicability Throughout this document reference is made to various federal regulations, in particular Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 139, Certification of Airports (14 CFR 139), and Federal Aviation Administration Advisory Circulars that deal with managing hazardous wildlife at or near airports. (See Appendix C for a list of applicable ACs.) It is recognized that GA airports are not bound by Part 139. However, many states use 14 CFR 139 and FAA Advisory Circulars as the basis of their civil aviation regulations. GA airport managers may find it beneficial to be familiar with these regulations and ACs. 4 Guidebook for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports Five people died March 4, 2008, in northwest Oklahoma City when their Cessna 500 Citation I struck an unknown number of white pelicans. (Photo P. Robinson)

Airports that have accepted Airport Improvement Program (AIP) monies or other federal grants-in-aid (obligated airports) are bound by the Airport Grant Assurances, particularly, Assurance 19, Operation and Maintenance; Assurance 20, Hazard Removal and Mitigation; and Assurance 21, Compatible Land Use. These three Assurances have a direct bearing on addressing hazardous wildlife problems at a GA airport. Also, FAA AC 150/5200-33, Hazardous Wildlife Attractants on or near Airports, was added to the FAA Airport Improvement Program’s list of Grant Assurances in July 1999. Therefore, obligated GA airports are bound by the AC requirements. Non-obligated GA airports may also find these recommendations helpful for dealing with wildlife problems. The FAA lacks congressional authority to issue operating licenses or to inspect GA airports. Inspection and licensing of GA airports is a state responsibility. An obligated airport’s requirement to meet all applicable Airport Grant Assurances and Advisory Circulars is a contractual obligation. It is not a regulatory requirement. GA airports that do not meet the Airport Grant Assurances can be found to be “in noncompliance with the Grant Assurances.” This is a breach of contract, not a violation of federal law or regulation. How to Use This Guidebook, and an Introduction to Controlling Hazardous Wildlife at General Aviation Airports 5 Crows attracted to fresh water trapped in berms next to a runway. These berms were caused by snow removal. (Photo E. Cleary)

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Guidebook for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports Get This Book
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TRB's Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) Report 32: Guidebook for Addressing Aircraft/Wildlife Hazards at General Aviation Airports explores wildlife challenges that airports may face and potential techniques and strategies for addressing them.

The guidebook examines the different species that can be found at airports and specific information that may be helpful in identifying and controlling them, and the various wildlife attractants and best management practices that can be employed by airport operators to minimize wildlife activity at and around airports. The report also highlights wildlife control strategies and techniques that may be appropriate at general aviation airports, and reviews how to develop a wildlife control program.

Learn more about the webinar related to this product, scheduled for October 24, 2011.

View the ACRP Impacts on Practice for this report.

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