Falconry as a Means of Reducing Bird-Aircraft Strike Hazards at Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.

Abstract

A serious bird-aircraft strike hazard exists at Whiteman AFB (WAFB), MO, because of the resident flock of protected Greater Prairie Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus) which may be found on and near the runways. In recent years an increasing traffic load, involving mostly jet aircraft, frequently with highly sensitive cargo, has raised the strike hazard to intolerable limits. During the last 5 years, a minimum of 12 bird/aircraft strikes were recorded each spring. After almost all conventional methods of bird control has been tried with only partial or temporary success, a program of continual harrassment using combinations of men, dogs, and falconry proved the most effective in the spring of 1973. Two air strikes were experienced early in the test program and none after that. By techniques described herein, the strike hazard at WAFB was reduced by at least 83.3%. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1974
Accession Number
AD0774568

Entities

People

  • Edwin Mattingly

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Air Strikes
  • Aircrafts
  • Birds
  • Jet Aircraft

Readers

  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Aquatic Ecology
  • Environmental Engineering.