Friday, November 20, 2015

Modern Bird Strike Prevention - Stop Birds from Hitting Airplanes!



Bird Strikes at Airports

BirdStrike collisions are a problem that needs to be taken seriously as the number of commercial and private aircraft bird strikes continues to grow worldwide. The United States alone spends over $500 million annually to repair damage to aircraft and worldwide the cost is over a billion. 

       The first fatal accident occurred in 1912
       Since 1960, approx. 400 aircraft have been destroyed
       Over 370 people killed as a result of bird and other wildlife strikes



Bird Strikes typically involve birds or bats striking windshields of aircraft or getting sucked into engines. Bird Strikes can also cause damage to building or structures on the ground if a serious accident were to occur. The most common locations for bird striking aircraft is during take off and landings, although there has been occurrence’s at higher altitudes.  Probably the most famous bird strike is when a US Airways flight was struck by a massive flock of geese causing it to loss power and heroically landed in the Hudson River. Luckily everyone walked away from the accident unharmed, but since that day the airport has increased man power and money spent on bird strike prevention and the number of bird strikes has gone up not down.


Bird Strike problem birds & wildlife
In the United States gulls and geese are the common cause of bird strikes do to their large size and populations. But other birds like turkey vultures, kites, pelicans, starlings and pigeons can also contribute to aircraft collisions. Large animals like deer and coyote have been known to run in front of aircraft during take offs and landings, which often causes more damage to the aircraft then birds. An often over looked bird strike hazard is the presence of rabbits at airports. Rabbits can indirectly cause bird strikes by getting run over by ground vehicles and planes; they generate a large amount of droppings, which attracts mice. All of this is not that bad except mice attract owls.

The United States relies on outdated Bird Strike prevention techniques.
The US tax payers spend millions and millions of dollars a year on Bird Strike products and labor and getting very little in return for their investment. BASH bird strike programs currently used in the US are labor intensive - typically involving personnel in trucks shooting bird bangers or outright killing in addition to other harassment techniques that fail to permanently modify roosting or flight conditions. Similarly, other sub-par audio systems  are also deployed but seldom produce a permanent solution as birds habituate to the  'same sound, same speaker syndrome'. Some airports in the US have set up radar systems to warn them of approaching bird flocks. These systems are very expensive and often times misidentify the potential treat. At best, radars give workers a heads up to a potential threat - only to resort to the same obsolete harassment techniques.  


Combine the Zon Gun Mark IV Propane Bird Scare cannon, which is best when used with a tripod and timer, with multiple visual scare products that are problem bird species specific. The Mark IV rotating tripod provides 360 degree coverage of the control area, while the while the Quartz timer allow you to set when you would like the bird cannon to turn on and off.  Airport problems can be complicated because of the layout and it is often multiple species of birds that are in the area. Feel free to call us to discuss a custom solution of bird control products designed for your airport at 855-741-3222 or email us at mark@birdsgottago.com


 

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