Bash. - Bird/wildlife arcraft strike hazard military/aviation

Approach, April, 2003 by Matthew W. Klope

I have been a civilian wildlife biologist for the Navy for the past 24 years. Most of that time was spent protecting wildlife and habitats on Navy lands. I am currently the Navy and Marine Corps BASH program manager. Since taking over the Naval Facilities Engineering Command's BASH program in February 2000, I have grown to appreciate the relationship between wildlife, habitat, and the naval aviator.

Managing wildlife and natural resources on Navy and Marine Corps lands is a complex, full-time job for natural-resources managers. We must be aware of the environment but must stay focused on supporting the military mission. Doing both is not always easy, since most naval facilities are located near coastal areas associated with wetlands and other habitats. These areas attract various wildlife species, migratory and non-migratory. Many facilities were built in the early 1940s and were located in areas considered out of the way and low-cost, such as coastal wetlands, woodlands, and habitats not desirable for industry.

Today, many of our facilities are now islands of pristine, natural habitats, surrounded by human encroachment. As more and more wetlands and coastal estuaries become developed for human habitation, these islands of natural habitats--naval facilities--become more important to wildlife.

Unfortunately, this situation presents a big problem. Since the 1970s, many species of birds have increased their numbers dramatically. Combine this growth with shrinking habitats, and you're on a collision course with naval aviation. Since 1980, the Naval Safety Center has recorded over 12,000 wildlife strikes. I say "wildlife strikes" because BASH events have occurred with many species, including birds, deer, moose, cows, coyotes, dogs, cats, bats, snakes, and fish. Only 20 to 25 percent of all damaging and non-damaging strikes are reported.

Aviation-mishap reports show strike events have caused the death of two naval aviators, 14 crashed aircraft, 17 ejections, 36 injured aircrew, and 243 Class A, B, and C FODed engines. These reports also indicate the top four wildlife species involved in mishap events are gulls, vultures, waterfowl, and deer. The cost to the Navy because of these mishaps is over $313 million. This expense does not accurately reflect the total cost, since it doesn't include the damage estimates found in the thousands of hazard reports.

What can be done to prevent future wildlife-strike events? First, and foremost, is awareness and communication. All players in the aviation and natural-resources communities need to communicate with each other. The installation's natural-resources manager is one set of eyes and ears monitoring the wildlife populations around an airfield. The second set of eyes and ears are the operations personnel and aviators using the airfield environment. The natural-resources manager can discuss wildlife issues, identify peak movement periods, offer migration information, and help identify strike remains.

Aircrews and airfield workers should report wildlife activity to the tower and other aircraft. Wildlife sightings reported by aircrew could save the lives of aviators on later flights.

BASH should be a topic at all safety standdowns and aviation-safety-council meetings because of the seasonality of wildlife populations and migrating habits. There is a BASH interactive multimedia-training module available through the Distance Learning Program of the Civil Engineering Corps, Officers School (CECOS), Port Hueneme, Calif. This training program is in a CD format and covers all aspects of the Navy and Marine Corps BASH program. It is available, at no cost, through CECOS. The point of contact is Ms. Jacqueline Francis, (805) 982-2822 (DSN 551), or e-mail francisjr@cecos.navy.il.

The most important component of the BASH program is reporting wildlife-strike events and identifying the species involved in each event. It is not realistic to control or to eliminate all wildlife on an installation. In fact, many wildlife species associated with an installation do not pose a threat to aviation. It's the few problem species that need close attention and management. The only way to determine which species are creating the problem is to document strikes.

All damaging and non-damaging strikes must be reported to the Naval Safety Center. The Safety Center recently upgraded their website (see page 7) for reporting wildlife strikes. The revised website includes a query capability for squadrons and natural-resource managers to obtain data for management purposes. This new site also allows you to report non-damaging strike events. The number of "Oh&^%$*! How did we miss that one?" far outnumber actual strike events. If these types of events are reported, imagine the database that could be used to manage an installation's BASH program.

Strike data also can be used to locate problem areas around the airfield and training areas. If a group of strike events and the species are identified at a specific location on an installation, then measures can be taken to modify the habitat. It might be a wetland, ponded water from a rainstorm, an agricultural outlease, a bird-roost area, or a coastline. Problem areas can be avoided by modifying flight operations. For example, if a known flight of birds cross the airfield in the evening just after sunset, then flight operations might be delayed. Another possible option would be to use another runway, away from the local migration.