Duke flight helps agency combat aircraft-wildlife strike threats

  • Published
  • By Dan Neely
  • 919th Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
DUKE FIELD, Fla. --  A 919th Special Operations Wing MC-130E recently flew a rather unique double mission here. Normally used in combat operations, this particular sortie doubled as a routine training flight and as a wildlife habitat survey platform.

Piloted by Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. Douglas Bartz, the Combat Talon I carried two members of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Wildlife Services program: Richard Hinnah, a wildlife biologist, and Chris Barre, a wildlife specialist permanently assigned at Duke Field.

Hinnah said his agency requested an aerial view and photographic documentation of Duke Field and Eglin Air Force Base airfields and runway approaches, including surrounding habitat types and bodies of water that could be BASH concerns. BASH is an acronym for Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard, and the U.S. military operates aviation safety programs under the same name at its airfields around the world.

According to data from the Air Force Safety Center's website, during fiscal year 2011 alone the service confirmed reports of 4,471 air and ground collisions with birds and other wildlife that caused more than $13 million in damages to its aircraft. Closely mirroring Eglin's BASH program, which also covers Duke Field, Hinnah said Wildlife Services' related goals for both bases are to protect aircrews and their aircraft from these potentially damaging situations involving wildlife.

"By 'wildlife' we mean both birds and mammals, because both can have potentially damaging effects, he said. "The wildlife hazards at Eglin and Duke are so diverse they require the attention of trained wildlife biologists to develop proactive wildlife deterrence and habitat management strategies."

During the roughly two-hour flight, often as low as 500-feet above Eglin's expansive woodlands, the wildlife experts said they gained an aerial perspective of the habitats surrounding both bases and their position in relation to aircraft approach and departure patterns.

"Being in an aircraft and seeing potentially hazardous (wildlife) attractants allows us to prioritize our efforts," Hinnah said, as he pointed out a beaver dam below for a 919th SOW photographer and videographer onboard the flight. Citing an example of a wildlife attractant he added, "The beaver and the dams are not themselves inherently dangerous to aircraft. They are an indirect hazard."

A beaver builds a dam to impede the flow of water in a stream, he explained, which in turn leads to water buildup above the dam creating a lake. The new lake habitat can attract various species of birds, including ducks, gulls and herons. If the lake is in a critical area, such as approach or departure airspace, birds that are attracted become a direct hazard to aviation safety as they fly to and from the lake.

Hinnah said a reactive response would translate to direct control on the birds. But if the attractive habitat isn't altered that response would be only partially effective. The proactive approach, he said, is to remove the beaver and then remove the dam, which in turn allows the lake to drain and eliminate the attractant.

"Surrounded by suitable wildlife habitats, the airfields will continue to attract hazardous wildlife that frequent the airport, despite efforts made to control or eliminate attractants on the airport property," Hinnah continued. "Managing wildlife hazards requires constant vigilance, including habitat modification, monitoring through standardized surveys, general observations and other measures to reduce strike risks.

"Wildlife Services has put considerable effort into identifying habitat types on and off the airfield, types of wildlife species in the area, annual migration routes and the most effective mitigation strategies for this particular location, "Hinnah said. "All of this collected data has been used to develop a Wildlife Hazard Management Plan with recommendations for the specific hazards at Eglin and Duke."

The interagency support flight was especially appropriate for Bartz, who manages the 919th SOW's own BASH program in his overall role as the wing's chief of safety.
Providing an aerial view of the hazards associated with both Duke Field and Eglin AFB to the local USDA representatives was invaluable," the colonel said. "There are hazards we fly over every day that they have only had a ground view of in the past.

"We flew approaches to all of the runways at both bases. Walking into these places does not give you the overall picture that an above view can. The overall picture of each hazard area from an aerial view will give the USDA a better idea of how each region impacts flight operations."

Hinnah said he was grateful for the support he and his agency received from the 919th SOW.

"The cooperation between Wildlife Services and the 919th at Duke was outstanding. Colonel Bartz did an excellent job in ensuring that we were able to observe everything we had requested," he said. "And the photographic support gave us the opportunity to capture a unique perspective not usually available.

"The photos and video will make excellent reference material for future discussions and presentations relating to BASH hazards in the vicinity of Eglin and Duke."