Hit and run:Aviation vs wildlife.

 

According to Vissers report on impacts of air port operations, unwanted sound also known as noise is the main topic of interest (Impact). While in advanced individual training for the military we would start out training listing the risk involved in our operations. Every class, although different in topic, had one thing in common. Wild life impacts of Uav operations. Being located in Arizona I was lucky enough to see this trining come in use. We had incidents with rattle snakes and even coyotes on the air field. When reading the report of disturbing noise to mankind my mind automatically thought of adverse wildlife effects of aircraft. A simple procedure we had in place was to  leave the airfield and climb to altitude to reduce noise interference with wild life. For the smaller UAV this wasn’t an option. Most of the time they had  limits on where they could fly. In order to reduce interruptions of mating season of endangered wild life they would only be allowed to fly in particular areas. Of course there are noise concerns but what about about while in the air? A study that covers years 1990-2021 shows just how deadly aviation can be to the wildlife around us (wildlife strikes).

    Once we turn on the engine there is a risk to wild life. We may not encounter it very often on an individual level, but in the whole of aviation operation wildlife incidents are common. The study shows the variety of animals that strike or are struck. They include Owls, Geese, Pelicans, Seagulls, Eagles, and even turtles (Wildlife strikes). Following the link in the references you can see the photos of fowls caught in the engines and airfoils. As if that’s isn’t bad enough between the given years of the study a specific 18 wildlife incidents resulted in 41 human life’s lost. Although this may be a rare event individually we should add and keep in mind the surrounding wildlife when designing safety plans. When available we can choose flight paths that may be less populated for wildlife and humans. For example if flying low altitude over a field vs a very wooded area. Checking with the local wildlife agencies for locating of known endangered species can also help. Having these good practices can apply even when determined where to jettison fuel should the need arise.  

    

                                                                            References

Management of the environmental impact of airport operations,Visser,(impact)

     https://ebookcentral-proquest-            com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/lib/erau/reader.action?docID=3019371&query= 

Wildlife strikes to civil aircraft 1990-2021,(wildlife strikes) https://www.faa.gov/sites/faa.gov/files/2022-07/Wildlife-    Strike-Report-1990-2021.pdf