BIRD HAZARD MANAGEMENT

Introduction

1. Man has always been fascinated by birds of flight and over the years has
fine-tuned his imitation of them, churning out faster and more aerodynamic
aircraft. This unfortunately has had an adverse effect, as birds have to share
airspace with these aircraft. This naturally leads to occasional birdstrikes, and
while these are invariably fatal for birds, they range from simple fuselage
damage to devastatingly lethal in aircraft.

2. Bird Strikes Statistics. Bird strikes have been a matter of concern

for the aviation industry since the first aircraft flew. The first reported birdstrike
in aviation history occurred when an aircraft manufactured by Orville Wright was
struck by a bird two years after the first powered flight in aviation history in
December 1913. One of the worst birdstrike disasters was in October 1960,
when a Lockheed L-188 Electra, Eastern Air Lines, flying from Boston, crashed
shortly after take-off into Boston harbour, with 62 fatalities after hitting starlings.
Another more recent case is of the US Airways Flight 1549 in 2009, which
‘landed’ in the Hudson River after collision with a flock of geese shortly after
takeoff. Since 1912, worldwide, bird collisions with civil aircraft have resulted in
55 fatal accidents, 295 deaths, and destruction of 109 aircraft. In India, a study
conducted by Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) revealed that 71 airports
reported 2,946 bird hits from 2010 to 2014. A yearly increase in the number of
cases, from 367 in 2010 to 669 in 2014, was also observed. Closer home,
Mumbai International Airport reported a stupendous 69 birdstrikes in 2014 and
INS Shikra reported 50 cases of birdstrikes from Jan 2000 to June 2015.

3. Bird hazard is one of the prime flight safety concerns in today’s world. To
effectively tackle this, a better understanding of the birds in question and their
characteristics is a prerequisite. This can be achieved by carrying out studies of
birds at the concerned airfields to collect data that can be subsequently collated
and the necessary information can be interpreted. Regular bird studies are
undertaken at various airfields including Naval Air Stations and international
aerodromes. These projects generally focus on bird habitats, bird migration
habits, and the ecology around the aerodrome, with the core objective of
preventing birdstrikes to aircraft and making aviation safer. The major focus of
this paper is to undertake preliminary assessment of the potential birdstrike
species in and around Western Ghats, especially Mumbai, and to assess factors
responsible for the occurrence of frequent bird hits.

Study of Birds - Konkan Region

4. Before commencing a study on birds, it is important to study the

surroundings of the environment in which majority of airports in Konkan region
namely Mumbai, Shikra and Dabolim operate. These airports are mostly bordered
by slums and their boundaries are infested with overflowing population /
dwellings all around. There are dilapidated buildings, huts and plenty of garbage
all around. Further, all the aerodromes in Konkan region namely Daman, Mumbai
International, Shikra, Ratnagiri and Dabolim are located in lush green environs
with overgrown vegetation especially during monsoons thus providing a natural
habitat for birds of various species. Being coastal aerodromes, these airfields
have fishing harbours in the vicinity; thereby increasing the bird habitats around
them. On the West of these aerodromes, they are facing the Arabian Sea, which
owing to rampant coastal fishing activity is a foraging ground for sea birds such
as gulls and terns, and also egret and heron species during low tide. Thus all the
areas in the vicinity of Konkan region aerodromes provide the right habitat for
the occurrence of bird species’ populations, especially those that are dependent
on human settlements.
5. About 36 or more bird species that affect aircraft operations have been
recorded at Mumbai during various studies undertaken by Bombay Natural
History Society (BNHS) and other agencies. Some of the common birds that have
been found in this region along with their salient features are given below:-

Ser Name of Dimensions Identification Occurrence Threat

Bird features in Konkan Potential
region
1. Black Kite About 60 Dark brown Common Birds will avoid
cms, 650 with fork tail especially in helicopters due to
gms urban areas their slow speed.
Fighters prone to
strike
2. Common About 35 Large round Common in Large nocturnal
Barn owl cms, 470- head and abandoned bird, threat at
570 gms conically buildings night
pinched facial and ruins
disc. Golden
and grey
above, silky
white below.
3. Rock About 35 Bluish-grey Cliffs and The straight and
Pigeon cms, 300 with gorges, and fast flight, and the
gms glistening, around tendency to panic
metallic human on being
green-purple- habitation disturbed by loud
magenta and noises makes it
sheen on cultivation prone to collision
breast with aircraft
4. House About 15 Greyish- Common Minor due to
Sparrow cms, 25 brown with around small size and
gms dark brown human small numbers,
streaks habitation can pose threats
and when flying in
cultivation flocks
5. Common About 23 Dark brown Neighbourho An alert and
Myna cms, 120 with glossy od of strong flier, would
gms black head, homesteads, be able to take
yellow legs villages and evasive measures
and bill cities on approach of a
helicopter
6. House About 45 Rich glossy Human Birds are
Crow cms, 300 black habitations, extremely
gms forehead, towns and intelligent and
crown, throat cities take evasive
and upper action on
breast, grey approach of
neck and aircraft
breast
7. Great About 90 Large, lanky, Marshes, Large size and the
Egret cms, 1000 snow-white rivers and pointed bills, in
gms with blackish addition to their
 legs and a jheels flocking nature,
yellow bill would make them
serious threats to
aircrafts if
encountered
8. Little About 65 Small, snow- Inland Like Great Egret,
Egret cms, 350 white with wetlands, but considerably
gms black bill and marshes, smaller
yellow feet estuaries
9. Grey About 100 Ashy-grey Swamps, Same as Large
Heron cms, 1300 with white estuaries and small Egret,
gms crown and and rocky but in much
neck and offshore smaller numbers
long black islets
occipital crest
10. Lesser About 20 An overall During Small in size, but
Sand cms, 60 brownish Winter, they occurs in flocks.
Plover gms with whitish migrate to Flat and open
underparts, seashores nature of
chunky long and aerodromes make
legs and long mudflats it an ideal site for
bill birds to rest
11. Black- About 45 Pure white Sea coast Serious threat due
Headed cms, 400 wing leading and to large size,
Gull gms edge and has estuaries flocking nature
black spot on and habit of
ear-coverts following fishing
boats for discards.
However, an
intelligent species
and an adept flier,
would be
expected to take
evasion action on
the approach of
helicopters
Bird Strike Mitigating Measures

6. There were no bird strikes prior to 1913 when the Wright Brothers
invented the aeroplane. Whilst the birds have been the original operators in the
skies of Planet Earth, the humans through their inventive and capitalist minds
have encroached on their natural habitats. Airports are normally built away from
the cities, but time and again have to be relocated further away as human
populace continues to swell. This continual encroachment of bird habitats
alongwith human desire to develop aircraft with more and more speed as well
sophistication has altered the life style of these birds who till now were used to
soaring freely in the skies. This has led to a sharp rise in the level of interaction
between aircraft and birds during their flights, especially during landing and take
offs. It is a well known fact that there is no single foolproof strategy to
completely nullify the risk of birdstrikes. Rather, it is a continuous process of
‘observe and react’ where a combination of scientific methods is relied upon to
effectively minimize birdstrikes.

7. Bird Elimination Against Bird Mitigation. The primitive approach

of killing birds in vicinity of airfields to avoid bird strikes has been now replaced
with bird mitigating strategies to ensure an environmental friendly solution to the
extant aviation challenges. Whilst strict enforcement of state laws on the
dwellings, garbage bins, and butcheries is the logical way ahead, its
implementation is a long drawn process and may not yield immediate results in
the near future. A variety of mitigating measures have been employed by the
airfields for reducing the bird strikes. Whilst some of these measures have been
extremely useful, some have not been able to yield the desired results. Some of
the bird deterrent devices already in use at Daman and Shikra have yielded the
following results:

(a) Gas Exploders – Minimal impact

(b) Pyrotechnics – Efficient instantaneously; not suitable to keep birds away

for prolonged periods.

(c) Bird Wailers – Effective initially, however birds get accustomed to the
sounds over time.
 (d) Scare-Eye Balloons – Minimal impact

(e) Bird Control Spikes – Very efficient; reduce perching on walls and
ledges to a negligible level.

8. Global Approach to Bird Strike Mitigaion. Globally, various

birdstrike mitigating approaches are broadly divided into three categories, viz,
Deterrent, Harassment and Exclusion. Some of the more effective and innovative
strategies are listed below:

(a) Deterrents

(i) Habitat management, including reduction or elimination of trees,

shrubs and other plants which provide food, shelter or roosting sites
for birds.

(ii) Ensuring landfill waste disposal sites are not operated in the vicinity
of aerodromes.

(iii) Chemicals such as Methyl Anthranilate and Anthraquinone sprayed

on vegetation in the vicinity.

(iv) Introducing tall-grass meadows in the vicinity as heavy birds are

thought to avoid tall grasses for fear of hiding predators.

(v) Effigies of dead birds or models of predators.

(vi) Bird flight diverters

(b) Harassment

(i) Biosonic alarms and distress calls

(ii) Bird deterrent Lasers

(iii) Use of predators such as falcons, dogs and pigs.

(c) Exclusion

(i) Bird detecting radars

(ii) Anti-perching wires and spikes

 (iii) Anti-perching chemical adhesives

Conclusion

9. The use of harassment, exclusion, and deterrent techniques is an

important component of integrated wildlife management programs at airports.
Non-lethal techniques to reduce human-wildlife conflicts, including bird collisions
with aircraft, are not just more acceptable than lethal techniques, they are more
holistically effective as they succeed in maintaining a balance in the
ecosystem. However, it must be recognized that individually, most bird hazard
mitigating techniques have only limited effectiveness in reducing bird occurrence
at specific areas. To effectively reduce the risk of birdstrikes, a combination of
the above mentioned techniques must be applied, and the results of the same
must be periodically monitored to assess their efficacy.

10. It is generally accepted that most defence aircraft operations stand at a

much greater chance of sustaining damaging bird strikes than is experienced
with civil transport aircraft operations. This is attributed to a greater proportion
of flights conducted at low levels. This proportion gets further skewed for
helicopters as most of the flight is carried out along the coast and at extremely
low altitudes. Since most of the air stations in Konkan region have various
organizations (Coast Guard, Navy, AAI etc) operating out of them, a synergized
approach must be adopted to avoid duplication and unwanted redundancy of
efforts. This can be achieved by having regular meetings and conferences
with representatives from all the concerned parties, along with specialist
biologists, ornithologists and wildlife conservationalists. With the right techniques
and strategies in place, the risk of birdstrikes can be greatly reduced, and in the
future, maybe even nullified.