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

Bird strikes pose a risk to aviation. Collisions between birds and airplanes result in a threat to human lives, economic losses, and material damage. The majority of these collisions occur on airfields during takeoff and landing. Knowing what bird species are present on airfields, in what numbers, and relating that to the extent to which these birds are involved in collisions can help to direct bird control activities to specific bird species and thus reduce bird strikes. In this article, we offer a method to quantify the risk of bird strikes at airfields based on counts of bird abundance on airfields. We analyzed bird abundance in relation to bird strike risks based on a dataset from six Dutch airfields covering three decades. We used the data to define two metrics: Species Strike Impact (SSI) and Bird Strike Risk Index (BSRI), which are both independent of aspects such as bird behavior, habitat, season, or weather. These two metrics, respectively, reflect the bird strike risk per individual of a bird species on an airfield based on hazard probability and severity (SSI), and they provide quick insight in the local status of overall bird strike risks by summing all species-related risks into one overall index (BSRI). Both metrics are calculated from counts on the airfield of birds, bird strikes, and air traffic movements. This method can be readily incorporated as a leading indicator in flight safety management at airfields, enabling bird control personnel to take risk-reducing actions targeted at specific bird species on airfields.