A Practical Method to Assess Bird Strike Risk in Air Operations Using a Count-Based Risk Mitigation Tool

Area of Science:

• Aviation safety
• Wildlife management
• Ecological risk assessment

Background:

• Bird strikes present significant risks to aviation safety, causing human fatalities, economic losses, and aircraft damage.
• Most bird-aircraft collisions occur on airfields during critical flight phases like takeoff and landing.
• Effective bird control strategies require understanding species-specific risks and abundance on airfields.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a quantitative method for assessing bird strike risk at airfields.
• To introduce two novel metrics, Species Strike Impact (SSI) and Bird Strike Risk Index (BSRI), for evaluating bird strike hazards.
• To provide a data-driven approach for targeted bird control measures in aviation.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of a three-decade dataset on bird abundance and bird strikes from six Dutch airfields.
• Development of the Species Strike Impact (SSI) metric, reflecting risk per individual bird based on hazard probability and severity.
• Calculation of the Bird Strike Risk Index (BSRI) by aggregating species-specific risks into a single index, using counts of birds, strikes, and air traffic.

Main Results:

• The study established two metrics (SSI and BSRI) that quantify bird strike risk independently of environmental or behavioral factors.
• These metrics are derived from readily available data: bird counts, bird strike incidents, and air traffic volume.
• The analysis demonstrated a correlation between bird abundance on airfields and the associated bird strike risks over a 30-year period.

Conclusions:

• The proposed metrics (SSI and BSRI) offer a reliable method for quantifying bird strike risk at airfields.
• This approach can serve as a leading indicator in flight safety management systems.
• Implementing these metrics allows for targeted, species-specific bird control actions, enhancing aviation safety and reducing strike incidents.