Wildlife activity poses a significant challenge to airports. Airports have encountered seals on the runway, deer in surrounding vegetation and various bird species in trees. Wildlife are attracted to airports due to the landscape structure that may resemble certain species’ natural habitats. Some airports are also situated in the bird migratory path. Regardless of the species and attractant, wildlife activity is a safety hazard for all airports.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the number of wildlife strikes reported per year in the U.S. increased steadily from about 1,800 in 1990 to 16,000 in 2018, which indicates that, on average, over 40 strikes are reported daily. Wildlife activity presents a major safety hazard that can lead to deadly collisions, resulting in the loss of many lives as well as financial loss due to aircraft damage. This safety hazard can be mitigated with the implementation of a robust wildlife hazard management system. Airports can particularly benefit from investing in digital solutions that provide airports with real-time tools to aid in effective mitigation.
While some airports have a digital solution in place, most airports rely heavily on a manual process or a disparate combination of manual, Excel, and internal software documentation to capture various aspects of wildlife management. Digital wildlife hazard management solutions allow airports to automate and streamline the process from end to end, from recording the wildlife sighting to denoting the actions taken, submitting strike reports to the FAA, and analyzing trends and harassment techniques.
A digital wildlife hazard management system is crucial for detailed reporting and real-time analyses. With such systems in place, airports can attach an image of the wildlife sighted to the report. This feature is especially useful as a reference to aid in the identification of unknown species. Some systems also have a map feature that enables airports to easily view the concentration of wildlife sightings as well as the breakdown of sightings by species. Wildlife hazard management systems have the capability to integrate with other systems for seamless data sharing. For example, any strike reports created in the system are automatically sent to the FAA’s Wildlife Strike Database. Any changes made to the strike report will be reflected in the system as well as the FAA Wildlife Strike database. Wildlife hazard management systems can also be integrated with internal systems, such as Part 139, allowing the ability to create a report in the event that wildlife is sighted during an airfield inspection. Digital wildlife hazard management systems allow airports to capture all wildlife data in one holistic solution.
The utilization of digital solutions to monitor and assess wildlife activity can transform wildlife management at airports. Digital solutions deliver innovative, empowering, and intuitive tools for effective mitigation. Airports can leverage technology to establish a streamlined and comprehensive wildlife hazard management system.