Seasonal changes?

Flying Safety, Sept, 2004 by Melanie Presuto

Ground safety folks speak of the "101 Critical Days of Summer," but for those of us concerned with bird strikes, every day of the year is critical, especially the fall migratory season. That's when the consequences of those "flames of animal romance" of the previous spring become evident: New chicks have hatched, which soon will begin their migration southward. With any long road trip that includes infants, toddlers and teenage drivers, mishaps are always a possibility and precautions are necessary to make the trip uneventful; the world of bird strikes is no different. While the mother goose and her "unlearned" youth join many other species as they fly south for the winter, the potential for damaging strikes to aircraft increases. This year, the BASH team has gone to significant lengths to improve the strike statistics for the years ahead.

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Two such BASH program initiatives, which have the potential to take a big bite out of bird strikes, are an Alaska Bird Avoidance Model (BAM) and Small Mobile Radars (SMR). The Alaska BAM is discussed further in a separate article in this issue (see page 4). As for SMR, development is underway to create a real-time warning tool for airfield use. SMR can be a valuable tool for determining bird watch condition codes on an airfield using real-time data. The plan is to build and deploy an SMR this fall and to begin using it at high-asset bases to field-test how to best use the information that it can provide.

If you've read the latest (April 2004) edition of AFI 91-204, Safety Investigations and Reports, you might notice much of the BASH information previously listed is missing. We like to keep things interesting, and feel that change is growth, so we've mixed it up for 'ya. General information for bird and wildlife strike events, as well as instructions for investigative evidence, can now be found in AFMAN 91-223, Aviation Safety Investigations and Reports, a manual providing unique guidance in support of AFI 91-204 for investigating and reporting aviation mishaps. Paragraphs 1.3.1.2 and 5.4.2.1 contain the information outlined above.

In addition to that change, BASH has made some other changes this past year. Most notable is our reporting process. We've migrated BASHSAS into AFSAS, which actually reduces the number of reports the field has to generate after a bird / wildlife strike occurs. Previously, an AF Form 853, Air Force Wildlife Strike Report, was required for all strikes; thus, after reporting a Class A, B or C event, an AF Form 853 is still needed. Now, with AFSAS, no matter what class the mishap, only one report will be required.

Of course, when merging two very different databases, a number of bugs will always arise. Here is where the field's support really becomes important to assure that the final product works. Thanks to our early users, we've had some great feedback on how to make this reporting process more user-friendly. Thank you for your patience as we attempt to perfect this new system! One of the bugs we found from the field lay in the wording accompanying Class E BASH events within 91-204. While it is true that no FINAL MESSAGE will be generated for these events, reporting ALL events is required. The report will be used for trends that are applied to our models such as the BAM.

The biggest difference in this new reporting is the change in certain required fields. Currently, the AF Form 853 does not exactly match the fields required in AFSAS. Strobe lights, landing lights, flight path, cloud type and precipitation are no longer required fields when filling out the AFSAS strike report. "Phase of flight" is now called "phase of operation," with more details to match those fields already residing within AFSAS. Do not get hung up on "precision approach" vs. "non-precision approach" for Class E BASH events; knowing the bird strike happened on approach is more critical than the details.

We expect, as with any new system, we will have some changes to make. Your feedback is always helpful in making this a more efficient and user-friendly system, so, thank you for your inputs; they will make your life easier!

(Editor's Note: In addition to 1st Lt Presuto at DSN 246-1440, our BASH team includes Gene LeBoeuf, DSN 246-5679, Pete Windler, DSN 246-5674, and Maj Ted Wilkins, DSN 246-5673.)

1ST LT MELANIE PRESUTO

HQ AFSC/SEFW