BASH out aircraft and bird strike

Published Feb. 7, 2011
By Senior Airman Tong Duong
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- A bird strike can end a mission faster than a jet pilot scrambling to support ground troops. While the flight of birds predates that of man, the mission of one agency is helping both to co-exist.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration wildlife strike database, 92 percent of bird strikes occur at or below 3,000 feet above ground level. The purpose of the bird and wildlife aircraft strike hazard, or BASH, program here is to reduce the risk of wildlife and aircraft strike threats by managing and identifying hazards on and off base.

Wildlife biologists of the United States Department of Agriculture have helped wing safety and airfield management agencies stateside deal with BASH issues since the early 90s and have been assisting in Iraq and Afghanistan since November 2009. John Griffin, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing flight safety, is a wildlife biologist working on JBB.

The following is a question and answer interview with Mr. Griffin.

RTW: How effective is the program here?

GRIFFIN: The program's greatest success is that it has increased base-wide awareness of the potential strike threats posed by wildlife. Weekly surveys and daily monitoring has provided JBB with valuable knowledge of increased wildlife activity locations and times of day. This information helps mission planners and pilots make informed decisions to decrease strike threats. Also, through a variety of wildlife control methods, USDA has reduced strike threats by drastically decreasing bird activity in the area where bird strikes occur most, the airfield.

RTW: How has the BASH program helped wildlife and the mission of JBB to coexist?

GRIFFIN: One of USDA's primary missions is striving to create a balance between human interests and the needs of wildlife. You are never doing wildlife any favors by allowing it to reside on airfields. Not only are birds a threat to aircraft, but also the lives of every person on the aircraft. Keeping the airfield free of birds helps pilots and servicemembers complete the mission and return home safely to their families, which is vital to the success of Operation New Dawn.

RTW: What does your team do with the birds?

GRIFFIN: Whenever there is a bird strike and remains are collected, it is forwarded to the Bird Feather Identification Lab at the Smithsonian Institution for identification and scientific purposes. Specimens collected provide valuable information, helping to build a foundation to improve flight safety in theater for years to come.

The lab has sequenced DNA for nearly every North American bird species, but its Middle Eastern collection is not nearly as complete, and the USDA's presence here is a wonderful opportunity to contribute.

RTW: Are there other programs such as this in theater?

GRIFFIN: There is a USDA wildlife biologist currently assigned to Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. Each base has its own unique challenges, but the primary mission remains to reduce wildlife and aircraft strike threats. USDA conducts site visits and makes recommendations to safety and airfield operations officials on how to better mitigate some of the BASH concerns to bases throughout Iraq and Afghanistan.

RTW: What are some of the ways to remove birds from the airfield?

GRIFFIN: A successful BASH program uses an approach that integrates numerous wildlife control methods and techniques. These include habitat modification, exclusion, repellents and as a last resort, lethal control.

Most air bases have increased bird populations due to their attractive habitat which provides the essentials wildlife need such as food, water and cover. JBB is no exception. The base is an oasis in the desert that provides ideal roosting and nesting habitat and is surrounded by fertile agricultural fields which provide limitless food for many species of birds.

Perhaps the best tool to decrease bird activities on an airfield is to make its habitat as least attractive as possible. The best way is by eliminating roosting, nesting or feeding habitat which at JBB is a challenging endeavor.

A second non-lethal approach to reducing wildlife is exclusion. Abandoned buildings and hardened aircraft shelters provide the ideal roosting conditions for pigeons. Simply screening open and broken windows or closing HAS doors will exclude pigeons from utilizing these buildings.

Repellents are another valuable tool to help control wildlife. Pyrotechnics such as bird bombs and whistlers shot from hand-held launchers or shell-crackers fired from shotguns are invaluable and extremely effective at dispersing wildlife from local aircraft flight paths.

Lethal control is the last tool used to manage wildlife hazards. It reinforces and increases the effectiveness of pyrotechnics and allows the removal of hazardous species when necessary for the protection of human safety and aircraft.

Surrounded by fertile land and prime roosting areas, this base is an attractive location for wildlife, particularly near the airfield. While birds and aircraft can be a lethal combination, programs like BASH exist to help both planes and wildlife coexist on common ground.