"Airlines sound alarm bells on airport bird strikes"

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Airlines sound alarm bells on airport bird strikes 
By Jean Christou
Cyprus - The Cyprus Mail


A TOTAL of 28 bird strikes on aircraft at the island's two airports were
recorded between April and August this year, with some observers afraid it's
only a matter of time before there is a serious incident.

The issue of bird strikes was highlighted earlier in the week when
Eurocypria said it had shelled out thousands of pounds to repair one of its
planes after a recent incident.

Pilots and others who know the extent of the problem say there is probably a
bird strike every day or every other day, but most go unreported or are
reported as technical problems. There might be up to half a dozen or more
serious incidents each year, one pilot said. Another source close to the
problem said reported incidents could number as many as 200 a year, the vast
majority of which would not be considered serious.

However, until recently, there has been scant concrete information on the
actual extent of the problem.

New airport operator Hermes is pursuing a wildlife programme and began
recording incidents at Paphos in January this year, and from April at
Larnaca.

Although the bulk of the recently-recorded strikes - 18 out of the reported
28 - happened out of Paphos airport, Larnaca has the additional complication
of being adjacent to the Salt Lake, a protected wild bird habitat.

One pilot, who wished to remain anonymous, said Cypriot pilots were
concerned, in particular about the flamingos that visit the Salt Lake.

"We are all really worried about them," he said.

"They are big and fly in large flocks near to the runway and they also fly
at night. Cypriot pilots know about them and tend to observe the area, but
foreign pilots may not be aware. If you fly into a flock of flamingos, the
damage could be very serious. 

There have already been some near misses."

Birdlife Cyprus Executive Manager Martin Hellicar agreed with the pilot. A
flamingo bird strike "has happened before and a plane was dented", he said.

"They were lucky, and the incident was reported as engine trouble. This is
why an urgent plan is needed."

Hellicar said Birdlife had not have any dealings with the government on the
issue prior to Hermes taking over the operation of the airport, so could not
state exactly what the policy was. "It's not that the government was not
doing anything. There was something going on, but there was no bird strike
plan, and this is an urgent issue," he said.

The pilot said that when a bird strike did occur, the captain of the
aircraft had to asses the situation quickly and decide whether he needed to
return to base or could carry on with the flight.

"The decision is sometimes based on not much information," he said. "You
just hear a bang, and the amount of sound is not necessarily proportional to
the size of the bird."

Thankfully, he said, most incidents were not serious and involved small
birds like sparrows. Along with flamingos, seagulls are also a concern as
they can also cause extensive damage. "There is an incident probably every
other day, but pilots may not report it," he added. "The airport authorities
can't guarantee that there will be no birds, but more measures are
definitely needed."

Cyprus Airways (CY) spokesman Kyriacos Kyriacou agreed. "There are bird
strikes every year and some are dangerous," he said, adding that they also
cost a lot of money for the airlines.

He said the cost of repairs could run into tens of thousands and even
hundreds of thousands of pounds every year. "However, the most important
issue for us is the safety aspect, because this is really a dangerous
phenomenon to aircraft," he said.

Kyriacou said CY had one serious incident over six months ago in Paphos. The
biggest danger is to the engines," he said. "If one engine stops [due to
bird strike] it's more or less okay but if the two stop."

Hellicar said Larnaca, in the middle of one of the most important wetlands
on the island, was always going to have a bird strike problem to manage.

He said Hermes was attempting to put a plan in place. "We are involved in
the discussions," he said.

He added that one of the ways the problem could be mitigated was through
better management of the habitat. "Where the airport is, it's almost always
going to be an issue," he said. "That's why we need a plan for the safety of
passengers, and of birds, before there is a serious incident."

Green Party leader George Perdikis said he had raised the issue three years
ago when a seminar was held involving foreign experts.

"This is a serious concern for public safety in all countries but in other
European countries there are complete plans to deal with the problem,"
Perdikis said.

"They are doing some things to scare the birds but it's not enough," he
said. What was needed, he said, was more technology. "It's not necessary to
create the know-how. It's already there and ready to be used."

What Hermes are doing

A SPOKESMAN for Hermes said their plan was already in the pipeline, and they
had already issued a report and set down deadlines to move things forward. 

"Since the introduction of the wildlife programme, the activities have been
focused on building our knowledge base on wildlife control," the spokesman
said. "As historical data about wildlife species and wildlife strikes have
been limited, special emphasis was given to observation and recording."

The plan includes:

Bird observations and patrol

Operations department staff are using department vehicles for patrols. They
have been provided with binoculars to be able to recognise birds/mammals.
Staff have been instructed to conduct bird inspections at least three times
a day throughout the airport premises including the eucalyptus forest in
Paphos.

Control equipment

Sirens, horns and halogen lights have been provided. Additionally a bird
distress call system will be provided soon. Shotguns and pyrotechnics have
been purchased and will be delivered as soon as permission is received to
use them. Bird control is mainly done with auditory deterrents such as human
voice, hand clapping, horns etc. When there is an abundance of birds on the
runways, wildlife controllers are scaring them away. 

Grass cutting

At both airports, the vegetation around the runway and the taxiways has been
cut to a height of 5cm. The Technical department is responsible for keeping
the grass short at these areas.

Garbage

The presence of garbage at the airport attracts birds as it is a potential
food source. Both airports have been cleaned from any garbage left around,
including scrap metal and abandoned cars. At Paphos airport, the
international waste dump next to the runway was creating many problems as it
was attracting a big number of crows. These crows were roosting in the
eucalyptus forest at night and were flying to the garbage dump at dawn to
find food. The dump was cleaned, closed and is not used any more.

Pests 

Part of the pest control programme was for the removal of insects around the
airport and especially around the runways and the buildings. Additionally,
the nests of pigeons are removed while wild cats are captured and
transferred to an animal shelter using special traps. Bird spikes have also
been installed on buildings in Paphos in order to prevent pigeons from
roosting there. 

Experts say most bird strikes happen close to the ground, and occur during
take off and landing. However, bird strikes have also been reported at high
altitudes, some as high as 6,000 to 9,000 metres. The bird, or in some
cases, small animals, are often sucked into the engine, where they can cause
serious damage. The International Civil Aviation Organisation estimates 11
per cent of bird strikes damage aircraft. The impact of a five-kilo bird at
240km per hour equals that of a half ton weight dropped from a height of
three metres. Flocks of birds are said to be especially dangerous, and can
lead to multiple strikes within a very brief period. Bird strikes have cost
nearly 200 lives of air passengers in the past 20 years.

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