Photo By Staff Sgt. Jacob Derry | A trap is set for predatory birds Jan. 28, 2019, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base,...... read more read more
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There are many dangers associated with operating as a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, and though Airmen assigned to the 4th Fighter Wing ensure aircraft are prepared to perform the mission, there’s one thing beyond their control; the F-15E Strike Eagle isn’t the only bird flying through the skies of North Carolina.
The Bird and Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard team is composed of members of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The BASH program’s goal is to preserve warfighting capabilities through the reduction of wildlife hazards to aircraft operations. Essentially, they attempt to control the wildlife surrounding Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and their movements during flight operations in order to avoid a potential animal or bird strike.
“Though the BASH team deals with any type of animal that might find its way to the airfield, the biggest concern at Seymour Johnson is birds,” said Dustin Gibson, USDA wildlife specialist.
At the west-end of the flightline, the city of Goldsboro owns approximately 200 acres of wetlands and ponds used for waste-water processing and treatment. Consequently, these lush habitats also attract many birds to take up residence there and fall directly in the path of jets taking off.
“Everything is about safe operations at the wing,” said Lt. Col. Tomas Jaime, 4th Fighter Wing chief of safety. “If you hit a bird, you can have a loss of life, which is the worst-case scenario, or loss of aircraft. It’s a big deal because if you hit a bird at a high speed you could potentially end up having to bail out of the aircraft and ejecting.”
In order to clear the area of any potential hazards, the USDA team uses methods involving pyrotechnics and propane cannons around approach and departure areas to project sound, causing the birds near the flightline to fly away and no longer be a threat to the aircraft and pilots.
“As far as preventing a bird strike, the biggest thing is notifying the tower and pilots that the birds are there so that they know,” said Gibson. “We’ll use the cannon to try to push the birds out of the area and once they leave or we feel they’re no longer a factor we’ll notify the tower so that they’ll notify the pilots.”
Another method for controlling the surrounding bird population is trapping and relocating them, a technique mainly used for birds of prey like hawks and falcons. The USDA team uses farm-raised quail to entrap birds attempting to get an easy meal, all while keeping the quail safe. The team then bands and relocates the bird at least 50 miles from any nearby flightlines or airports.
“By trapping these birds and relocating them, what we’re hoping to do is keep them away from this airfield and other airfields,” said Gibson. “Not only are we preventing planes from having bird strikes, we’re preventing a bird from getting hit by a plane. You’re possibly saving a bird on top of also preventing damage.”
One goal of the BASH team is to not cause harm to any bird or animal by using pyrotechnics, propane cannons and traps. These techniques help prevent flight interruptions and the untimely death of birds.
“The methods we use are virtually harmless,” said Gibson. “I’ve never seen any type of bird we’ve had here get harmed from these methods, and that’s what we prefer. We like for these birds to just move out of the area and not have to harm them at all.”
When the risk of birds in the path of a Strike Eagle is no longer a factor, that’s one less thing pilots need to worry about.
“It gives me a warm feeling that there are wingmen out there trying to prevent me from hitting birds or any animal,” said Jaime. “When you have an F-15E taking off or approaching at about 200 miles per hour, you’re not going to be able to avoid it so the best tactic we have is to make sure there’s nothing there that we have to worry about as aircrew.”
Over the last two years, the USDA team has deterred over 200,000 birds and mammals of several species surrounding Seymour Johnson. In 2018, the amount of bird strikes occurred at the base decreased by 43 percent.
“We have data to show that throughout the years there’s been a steady decrease in the amount of bird strikes the 4th Fighter Wing has encountered,” said Jaime. “Over time, that data has indicated as a measured effectiveness that what the USDA team is working, and we wouldn’t have it any other way here at Seymour Johnson.”
| Date Taken: | 01.28.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.23.2019 08:15 |
| Story ID: | 323619 |
| Location: | GOLDSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 167 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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