Mobile GIS and flight safety

Flying Safety, Oct, 2006 by Ted Wilkens

Normally, three steps are involved when confronted with Bird/wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazards (BASH): awareness, hazard identification, and threat mitigation. While all three areas are necessary for successful resolution to your BASH issue, properly identifying the threat is perhaps the most important one. The USAF BASH Team is committed to fully exploiting existing technologies and seeking new ones to assist you in maximizing all three steps. Use of Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) weaves aspects of all three steps into one product.

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The Air Force Safety Center maintains over 20 years of wildlife/aircraft strike data. This data is input by and collected from you: maintainers, operators, airfield controllers, civil engineering, etc. Statistics show BASH events cost the Air Force an average of $35 million a year, excluding any loss of life. Just over 5,000 strikes were reported last year alone. If you break the data down further, 49 percent of those strikes occurred around the airfield and caused 33 percent of the total damage costs.

We have the ability to control what transpires on the airfield by properly managing the environment around the aircraft movement area. Personnel who deal with the airfield have an enormous impact on flight safety by the way they manage habitat. This is where the use of GIS data really begins to reveal its potential. Accurately identifying problems focuses awareness so BASH-tasked personnel may better manage their time and effort on the airfield. In addition, accurate hazard identification enables proper resources to be applied to correct the situation the first time with minimal costs in a time of dwindling funds.

The Air Force determined a few years ago that mapping technologies were not adequately being coordinated within the service. Different functional communities within a single wing were duplicating mapping efforts to visualize their individual needs. Money and other precious resources were being inadvertently squandered. As a result, the USAF established the GeoBase program to provide a single mapping framework that could be used by all Air Force users. GeoBase provides a combination of people and technologies to manage the mapping needs Air Force-wide.

As with any other information technology, training is required to navigate GeoBase applications. It can be frustrating to those who "recreationally" use it. Extensive knowledge of data layers and merging imagery with that data is needed. Luckily, all active duty Air Force installations have an assigned GIS point of contact. These POCs are usually embedded within civil engineering as the Geospatial Integration Office (GIO) and are there to promote and further its use as the single mapping framework. They are there to help users, and they enjoy doing it! Most major AFRC and ANG installations have an assigned GIO. Smaller units that do not have an assigned GIO can request assistance from larger units within their assigned region.

The BASH Team conceptualized development of GIS modeling to enhance BASH reduction initiatives when conducting unit Staff Assistance Visits (SAV). Since mobility is paramount for field work, a tablet laptop computer with ESRI ArcGIS software was acquired. Total cost was around $6,000, with a majority going toward software licensing fees. Prior to conducting a SAV, preparation includes downloading satellite imagery, downloading existing data layers, and formatting both for use on the computer. Imagery and other data can be retrieved from MAJCOM or installation GIOs and other federal, state and local agencies. Keep in mind, imagery is only as accurate as what is available; most areas are mapped every few years. Also, most metropolitan areas and major installations usually have crisp resolution to one foot, but clarity can vary greatly by region.

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Data layers are fundamental to how GeoBase works. Downloaded satellite imagery from whatever source provides the core data layer for visual presentation and reference. Other data that might be needed for a BASH visit can include areas of endangered fauna and flora, landfill locations, property boundaries with owner details, land uses, and buildings with descriptions. This standardized data is managed by each base and can be requested through the local GIO. The BASH Team is in the process of identifying the data needed to support the BASH mission, termed the BASH Mission Dataset. This BASH Mission Dataset will be deployed across the Air Force within the next few years. The amount of data and detail available is astounding.

Armed with a tablet PC loaded with imagery merged with data layers, the Bash Team can tour an airfield noting hazards and recommendations right on the screen as they are discussed. These "notes" are added into the data layers when saved. Pictures can be taken during the airfield tour and added into the appropriate data layers at a later time to highlight the noted hazard and recommendation. Using this equipment and software in the field is relatively easy and requires only minimal training.