Bird Strike Committee Proceedings
Date of this Version
August 2001
Abstract
Airports use bird strike statistics to determine whether or not their bird control programs are necessary and effective. For example, each year Transport Canada publishes the number of bird strikes at Canadian airports and analyzes data from airports with the most strikes. While we often relate the number of strikes to the number of aircraft movements, we seldom relate the number of strikes to the hazardous species of birds. Richard Dolbeer and his co-authors (2000) ranked species according to their hazards to aviation based on the risk of damage or effect on flight they pose. I present a method for a cummulative measure of bird strikes that takes into account the level of hazard posed by each strike. The method is simple and allows comparison between years and among airports around the world. It also provides managers with a quantitative measure of the overall strike hazard and provides incentive for them to focus on hazardous species.