Two birds with one stone: Lakenheath BASH at work

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Megan Lyon
  • 48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England --  It's a scene eerily similar to Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds;" everywhere you look, you see them -- on rooftops, in the trees, on fences or just casually gliding through the air.

With such a large bird population, the Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard program is used to help ensure the jets keep flying.

"The BASH program is an Air Force-wide safety program designed to reduce aircraft damage caused by bird strikes," said Senior Master Sgt. Lyle Gillogly, 48th Fighter Wing Safety Office flight safety NCO. "We try to dissuade [the birds] from landing on the airfield. The program is a combined effort between the safety office, 48th Civil Engineer Squadron, 48th Operations Support Squadron, local farms and companies, as well as the base population.

The airfield grass is maintained at a certain height so birds are not tempted to hunt or nest in it. The local farms keep their areas free of excess feed that could attract birds.

"We also encourage people not to feed the birds at the base pond since that can attract birds to the base," said Sergeant Gillogly. "We try to do anything we can to keep the threat of bird strikes as low as possible."

Bird strikes are not only expensive in monetary terms; they also cost numerous work hours to repair aircraft damages. According the Air Force Safety Center, in fiscal year 2007, bird strikes cost the Air Force $25 million.

"Recently there was a bird strike on a navigation pod over the Vale of York area that caused about $90,000 in damage," said Sergeant Gillogly. "It took about 108 work hours to repair."

The program also keeps track of what kind of birds are in the area. The most common birds include European starlings, seagulls, swifts, rooks and wood pigeons.

"The local area has two bird migration seasons," said Sergeant Gillogly. "In the fall, birds migrate to England from Europe because we have a milder winter. In the spring, we have a secondary migration of birds leaving the heat of Africa."

All of these vacationing birds do more than just fly. They like to take breaks too.

After a bird is done eating, it looks for a flat, open field where it will be safe to digest its meal. That is called loafing. Since the birds are desensitized to the sound of the jets, they'll sit on the airfield and loaf.

Keith Mutton, owner of Phoenix Bird Control Service, patrols the airfield every day with a rotating team of falcons, hawks, owls and other tools to scare off loafing birds.

"We're known for the birds of prey, but we also use pyrotechnics, alarms and distressed birdcall recordings to clear the airfield," said Mr. Mutton.

The recordings used are of a bird caught by a bird of prey. Combined with seeing a falcon, hawk or owl, it reinforces the idea that the airfield is a hunting ground.

"It's all part of the program, but the birds hold it together," added Mr. Mutton. "They make it more effective."

While the Air Force and Lakenheath use BASH programs to avoid bird strikes, they don't let them go to waste when they do happen.

"Whenever we have a bird strike, we go out and get a sample of the remains," said Sergeant Gillogly. "The samples are sent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C."

The information gleaned from these samples is added into the world's largest bird strike database. The database is often used for conducting detailed statistical analysis for aircraft design and for environmental assessments.

"By adding this information to the database, we can determine the migratory patterns and concentration of the birds," he added. "Hopefully this can help us avoid future bird strikes."