August 2012 - Indian Airforce

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18 Aerospace Safety A u g u s t 2 0 1 2 spent in search for the mate, building the nest and courtship. Later, the movements increase to cater to the hungry mouths of the chicks. Hence, the probability of strike too goes up. But, the more signifi cant factor in our case is the presence of juveniles. The eggs of Lapwings start hatching from July and this continues till September at varied locations in the country. The juveniles which start fl ying after hatching are not used to the artifi cial environment of aircraft fl ying. It is presumed that the marked increase in the number of strikes is due to this reason. Damage Being predominantly a ground bird and of medium size and weight, the damage caused can only be gauged as minimum. However, it also remains a fact that the Lapwing is the single largest contributor for incidents. It is for this reason that we have to keep our vigil high to reduce the losses and down time of the aircraft. Recommended Modules Deployment of BHCT on Vulnerable Nights. The fi rst change that needs to be brought in is a belief that the BS incidents by night can be reduced. There is a need to deploy BHCT at nights too, with scanner lights, so that birds are scared away from aircraft manoeuvring areas on vulnerable nights. The most vulnerable nights, as per data, are the six nights before full moon night up to one night after the full moon. Lapwing is predominantly a ground bird. Hence, vehicles with powerful scanner lights can be plied on runway shoulders before every (or set of ) landing and take off, for scaring them away. The BHCT personnel are to be briefed and made aware of the threat that exists on those nights. Only experienced and motivated watchers (posted to BHCT) are to be deployed, or else the birds will go unnoticed by INDIAN AIR FORCE
an untrained eye. (Guidelines for night scanning of the RW are under fi nalization at DG(I&S) Branch). Shifting of Nests. One of the more labour intensive, but result yielding methods is to undertake a special drive to keep the Lapwings away from aircraft manoeuvring area. Trained BHCT personnel are to be given the task of identifying the nests and relocating them away from the area gradually. This would ensure that the birds, especially the chicks, are not around the aircraft manoeuvring area during the initial phase of their fl ying. Restriction on Flying. SAS & IO is to take stock of the situation in respect of the Lapwing activity on vulnerable nights and decide whether the level of activity is acceptable or not. If the level of activity is not acceptable, it is better to call off or restrict fl ying for those specifi c nights. Vigilance in the Morning. The vigilance for this bird is also to be kept up during the mornings during the vulnerable period. It is interesting to note that there were fi ve incidents on full moon nights and all were in the early morning hours. Long Grass Policy. Long grass with pointed tips gives a tickling feeling on the belly of this bird and makes it uncomfortable. At the height of 12 inches, it covers the eye level of the Lapwings and they are not comfortable nesting in such places. Such grass may not occur naturally at all places. But, AFA had nil Lapwings in the aircraft manoeuvring area whereas eight of them were found near a temporary water body at a distance of 500 meters from the edge of the RW. Conclusion Analysis of data reveals that Lapwings pose maximum threat to aircraft on the nights around full moon during the period of Jul- Sep. The other full moon nights of the breeding months also pose high threat. Though there are other species which are involved in incidents, this one is the largest contributor. Other species will be analysed separately in due course of time. As of now, we know the ghost which walks on full moon nights and the ways of managing it. We only need to understand the concept and implement modules in totality to minimize the number of strikes and damage to our aircraft. Post Script: Detailed data on the bird strikes will ensure that other ‘ghosts’ are also put to rest!! A mailman comes to a house and finds a garden gate marked BEWARE OF THE PARROT! He looks down the garden and, sure enough, there's a parrot sitting on its perch. He has a little chuckle to himself at the sign and the parrot there on its perch. The mailman opens the gate and walks into the garden. He gets as far as the parrot's perch, when suddenly, it calls out: "TOMMY, ATTACK!" INDIAN AIR FORCE 2 0 1 2 A u g u s t Aerospace Safety 19
Page 1 and 2: August 2012 AEROSP CE Safety Ornith
Page 3 and 4: Editorial or a pilot, hearing a ‘
Page 5 and 6: probability of their strike. This w
Page 7 and 8: AIRPORT BIRD HAZARD RISK ASSESSMENT
Page 9 and 10: In addition, one Bird enthusiast at
Page 11 and 12: For those who can recall, we had wr
Page 13 and 14: Pigeons are highly adaptive to huma
Page 15 and 16: of hangars may not ensure that they
Page 17 and 18: advanced brain like yours. But, we
Page 19: available. however, that was remedi
Page 23 and 24: ook showed the presence of a small
Page 25 and 26: Wg Cdr Vinayak Sharma & Sqn Ldr S S
Page 27 and 28: A few years later, a pioneering stu
Page 29 and 30: equipment un-economical. After the
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Page 33 and 34: was go down to the mess dump for br
Page 35 and 36: when the aircraft was taxing-in, th
Page 37 and 38: the aircraft reported birds on fi n
Page 40: WHAT APPROACH? TO AVOID BIRD STRIKE

August 2012 - Indian Airforce

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