Feral.

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“The man in charge at the time openly bragged to me how he loved to shoot anything because he was authorized to do so, and he especially liked trying to get the cats”

The American military man acting badly? The devoted reader to the blog has to decide for themselves.

From the controlled [?] Russian Internet media outlet Sputnik and thanks to same.

Sputnik International 05.06.2022

"'He Bragged How He Loved to Shoot Anything': Cats Shot Dead at US Air Force Base in South Korea"

"While the felines were apparently shot under the auspices of a program aimed at preventing birds and animals from posing a threat to aircraft safety, it looks like even creatures that did not pose a risk to aircraft were killed."

"A number of feral cats [domestic cats gone wild] ended up being shot dead by military personnel at the US Air Force’s Kunsan Air Base in South Korea, The Korea Herald reports."

"According to the newspaper, the cats were shot with pellet guns by personnel participating in the Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Striking Hazard (BASH) program, a person who participated in the effort back in 2020 explained."

BASH extremely dangerous to aircraft, military and civilian, landing and take-off. Obvious. Collision [primarily with bird life] can bring down even a very large airplane.

Read from the wiki an instance of BASH mitigation involving the culling [shooting] of laughing gulls. Success deemed only adequate.

Capture in live traps of the feral cats and euthanizing the animals would have been a better course of action!

coolbert.

BASH USA.

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The Indian Air Force has such occurrences. The U.S. Air force has such occurrences. BASH. Bird Accident Strike Hazard!

From the Aviationist:

"An A-10 Accidentally Lost Three Practice Bombs After Bird Strike in Florida."

"Accident Happened Over Controlled Range, Practice Bombs Remain Missing."

SOUNDS DIRE! THESE ARE PRACTICE BOMBS HOWEVER AND CONTAIN NO EXPLOSIVE MATERIAL. NO "BANG STUFF".

"A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II was involved in a bird strike incident that resulted in the loss of three practice bombs over a restricted bombing range in northern Florida on Monday. There were no injuries reported."

Regarding those missing bombs [BDU-33]:

"BDU-33 is a standard 25-pound practice bomb used by both the USAF and the U.S Navy . . . The BDU-33 does not carry a destructive explosive warhead, but a small spotting charge that releases smoke when the bomb strikes a target as an aid in judging bombing accuracy in training."

Unless you are directly under the bomb and it hits you on the head, nothing to worry about then.

coolbert.

BASH IAF.

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Collision, birds. BASH!

Bird Accident Strike Hazard.

Aircraft and pilot of the Indian Air Force [IAF] extremely lucky on this occasion.

From the Russian Internet web site Russian Times.

"WATCH Indian pilot fly into bird flock, avert deadly crash by ditching fuel pods in huge explosion"

Keep in mind that is a PRACTICE LOAD OF ORDNANCE AND FUEL PODS!

"The Indian Air Force almost met its match after a pilot encountered a flock of birds upon takeoff for a training mission, nearly downing his craft and forcing him to drop a haul of fuel pods, which erupted in a fiery explosion."

Jettisoning of fuel to prevent a catastrophic landing with explosion.

Film footage of this type hardly ever recorded. Events of this nature usually result in loss of plane and pilot.

coolbert.

Thistle.

This is coolbert:

Consider this more of a BASH issue? Danger to aircraft landing and taking off.

Thanks to the Russian controlled [?] media outlet Russian Times [RT].

"US Army declares war on Russian… weeds"

"The US Army Corps of Engineers considers 'Russian' weeds such a problem in the Pacific Northwest, it is seeking a contractor willing to clear them from an airbase and a training range near Seattle, Washington."

"To get rid of the dastardly Russian thistle, Russian olive, Dalmatian toadflax and other 'invasive' plants, the Army is looking for a small business with $7.5 million in average annual receipts, and fully licensed by the state department of agriculture as a pesticide applicator."

BASH = Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard.

1. Invasive species a greater threat to the environment than so-called man-made global warming.

2. Invasive species such as Russian thistle producing a prodigious multitude of seeds. Seeds that attract large flocks of migrating birds. Migrating birds in flocks that in the vicinity of an airfield pose a definite BASH danger to aircraft.

3. Joint military base Lewis-McChord having a lot of aircraft take-off and landings and also in close proximity to the civilian Sea-Tac international airport. BASH mitigation surely a must!

coolbert.

Birds & Such.

This is coolbert:

Hasta la vista Birdie!

Here with additional comments regarding BASH [Bird Accident Strike Hazard] - - in conversation and Q & A with persons that KNOW BASH!

As from the original and prior blog entry:

"Critters: [dogs falcons, and owl decoys - - animals that are natural predators. Geese for instance recognizing any animal that goes on all fours and has long fur as an enemy to stay away from!]"

Those animals under the control of a handler used at airfields used to ward off birds. Natural predators of birds and recognized instantaneously so by the birds. SCARE THE BIRDS AWAY! Dogs, decoys [owls and other raptors], live in-flight falcons, etc.

1. As to the efficacy of decoys [immobile "scarecrows"] such as a plastic owl on a pole:

"I would remove owl decoys from your list as those have been scientifically proven not to work in the long run."

Indeed, some species of birds, most specifically those of the corvidae  [ravens, crows, jays, etc.] family, being relatively smart and able to distinguish between a decoy and a live owl! NOT bird-brains to the extent that they seems to be cognizant of the danger of airplane collision and actually purposefully avoid airplanes.

"That is right. Crows are also smart and avoid aircraft more than other birds. This has been either studied or witnessed by biologists working at JFK."

2. Falcons free-flying under the control of a handler, swooping, diving, making a display of aerial aggressiveness in the search for feathered prey - - other birds in the area being SCARED AWAY by the recognized predator:

"Yes, trained falcons are still used, but I am not sure which airports still use them. I know JFK stopped using them. It is expensive and sometimes they do fly off."

3. As as to under what exact circumstances BASH is most critical [high or low altitude, take-off or landing] we have a slight divergence of opinion:

"From what I have learned over the years, a birdstrike during take off or climb is the worst possible time for an engine ingestion since they are running at full power, have a heavy load of fuel and it is harder to maneuver then. But, that being said, damage to aircraft in general can be worse at higher altitudes because the plane is moving faster and thus, the impact is worse and causes more damage" [informant A]

"All bird strikes are different, in terms of what damage they do, altitude, airspeed, capabilities of the plane (single engine fighter, dual engine fighter, 'many motors' transport/tanker/bomber), and so forth." [informant B]

4. Finally with an anecdotal account from informant B of a high-altitude high-speed jet BASH incident, amazing that the STUDENT PILOT IN HIS FIRST JET FLIGHT WAS ABLE TO SAFELY LAND!!

"Some birds, notably the Sand Hill Crane, which had a major migratory route right through/over Reese AFB, near Lubbock, Texas . . . do fly at altitudes up to 16,000 to 18,000 feet. We lost a few planes and one pilot . . . at Reese--his head was smashed in by a large Sand Hill Crane at higher altitude--the inexperienced student pilot landed the airplane with his instructor's headless body and the feathered remnants of the crane in the seat next to him."


"'twas a T-37: side by side seating, with each pilot's elbow literally touching the other's. And yes, a headless body and the remnants of the bird's body. I saw the cockpit before they washed it clean within an hour or two of its landing. The mortuary people/medics had removed the body by the time I got to the plane."


"Very bloody! How the student had the wherewithal to land that plane, not having flown in a jet before (it was his 'dollar ride'--first familiarization flight with the instructor doing most of the flying, both to display the plane and the new training areas to the student), is beyond me. But he did. I don't recall how he did in the rest of the program, but we considered it quite remarkable that someone could land on his first jet flight, with speeds and approaches twice as fast as in the prop jobs (T-41/Cessna 172) that we were flying just the week before to get our 40 hours and solos in."

Just to be clear, the student pilot was qualified to fly, take-off and land in a propeller driven aircraft, this being merely a familiarization flight in a jet aircraft. Brought the plane and himself down safely, the damage done severe, canopy smashed, pilot in the seat next to him dead [headless] along with remains of the crane inside that cockpit!

Such are the dangers of BASH. Ameliorate to a degree but NEVER eliminate. Be cognizant and wary of at all times recognizing the peril is there no matter what and take remedial measures even if NOT perfect! Thanks to all informants.

coolbert.

Birdie!

This is coolbert:

Hasta la vista Birdie!

From a variety of Internet web sites the commercial means and methods already employed at American air fields [civilian and military both] to ward off infestations of birds the danger as posed by BASH [bird accident strike hazard]! Masses of birds, flocks either residents or migrants, small and large avians creating a danger to aircraft either on take-off or landing!

Means and methods best categorized and to include repellents, noise, and animals!

1. Repellents:


[Chemical and electrification not lethal but VERY uncomfortable!]

* "AVIPEL and AIREPEL S-2 Booster . . . bird repellent applied to surfaces such as ledges, roofs and structures where birds roost."

* "Bird Repel [electrified system] is the ideal anti-roosting device that provides an effective solution to the mess and dangers of birds in and around airports."

* "ReJeX–iT or similar MA/soy oil blend and employ simple timers and compression systems to create environments unfavorable to all birds."

2. Repellents:

[visual - - distorts the vision of the birds, causing confusion!]

* "FlightControlR PLUS goose repellent in February 2004. Turf treated with FlightControl PLUS looks different to geese in the ultraviolet light spectrum."

* "The Firefly Flight Diverter, a new visual deterrent designed to affect avian vision day or night will deter raptors and other species in flight."

3. Noise:


[the big boom scaring the birds away!]

* "BirdBlaster, a bird activated radar deterrent system uses compressed air in a timed sequence to produce an audio/visual alert."

* "The Long-distance Blast Banger Bird-Dispersing System smoke, signal, flare and chemical ammunition"

* "Scare Away LP gas cannons, pyrotechnic cartridges, and electronic distress cry generators"

* "Sonic Bird Sweep is capable of delivering directional, intelligible sounds up to 1 mile."

* “'Shock & Awe' multi-shot scare cartridge launchers . . . radio controlled on-demand propane cannons""

4. Critters:


[dogs  falcons, and owl decoys - - animals that are natural predators. Geese for instance recognizing any animal that goes on all fours and has long fur as an enemy to stay away from!]

* "BCR's Birdstrike Control Program . . . featuring highly trained border collies"

* "Geese Police, Inc. uses highly trained working border collies to herd Canada geese off properties"

5. Water denial.


[used against waterfowl prevents their landing, nesting, etc.]

* "Euro-Matic Bird balls are 100mm hollow or water-filled plastic balls that form a floating cover for ponds and lagoons."

* "Aqua-Lator Environmental Ball, or E-BallTM, can be used to cover ponds and prevent birds from using these sites"

And for the detection and monitoring and archiving of "bird and bat activity" we have:

* "GMI's Mobile Avian Radar System (MARS) provides all-weather, unattended, 24/7 real-time monitoring and archiving of bird and bat activity."

A radar specifically designed to detect the presence of bats and birds and archive the data for research!

I think the consensus among the experts would be that BASH can be ameliorated to an extent but NEVER eliminated, the threat and danger will always exist. An understanding and taking into account of bird migration patterns, the routes and seasonal variation is a big help in this regard! BASH never will be gone, always will be there, but again, the threat can be lessened, quite significantly with some thought and action! NO one panacea but a holistic approach is required for the problem!

coolbert.

BASH IV.

This is coolbert:

"A bird strike (sometimes bird strike, bird hit, or BASH - (Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard)) is a collision between an airborne animal (usually a bird or bat) and a man-made vehicle, especially aircraft."

I remember this very well.

From over thirty years now. But could have been yesterday.

An avian [bird] population, descending upon a U.S. Army base [Ft. Campbell], and doing so in biblical proportions, causing a simultaneous multiplicity of problems, among them the greatly increased possibility of BASH incidents.

Described as “blackbirds” [starlings/grackles/cowbirds/red-winged blackbirds], teeming millions of them, finding superb winter nesting and roosting sites in the forests surrounding Ft. Campbell.

[military bases generally speaking quite often have large contiguous wooded areas that make excellent nature preserves, habitat for a variety of animals!]

For the birds - - GREAT!!

For the humans, animal populations, AND ARMY AVIATION AVIATORS in residence at Ft. Campbell, A DISASTER OF UNMITIGATED PROPORTIONS!!! Seemingly without practical remedy.

Ft. Campbell was at the time and is now the home base of the 101st Air Mobile Division [often described as an airborne division, more correctly an air mobile unit!!] HEAVY IN HELICOPTERS, ROTARY WING AIRCRAFT!!

[Ft. Campbell is currently also the home base of the Special Operations Aviation Regiment [SOAR] and a Special Forces [SF] group. The former a helicopter heavy unit, the latter an airborne unit practicing parachuting from fixed wing aircraft on a regular basis. Ft. Campbell is very active with Army aviation.]

As to the flocks of "blackbirds":

"their comings and goings have since daily halted plane take-offs and landings."

The potentiality for a serious and lethal BASH incident is magnitudes greater for a rotary-wing “slow-mover” such as a helicopter in contrast to a fixed-wing “fast-mover”?

A disaster, “seemingly without practical remedy”? NO! A remedy was found to the bird problem.

"The War on the Blackbirds"

"an extermination program. Crop-dusting airplanes and helicopters would douse the roosting birds with Tergitol S-9, a strong, biodegradable detergent that washes the oil from the birds' feathers. Without the oil, which helps to insulate them, the blackbirds would begin to die from the cold —if the temperature remained below about 45° F."

The remedy was - - to KILL THE BIRDS. Spray with an oil - - the birds freezing to death in the winter temperatures, the insulating properties of the bird's feathers being lost. AND THIS WAS DONE!!

This decision of the military, brutal and harsh as it was, nonetheless EFFECTIVE, was not without controversy. THE SPRAYING OF THE BIRDS BECAME AN ITEM COVERED ON THE TELEVISION EVENING NEWS. [you can imagine the scene made of thousands of dying birds, on the ground, in clumps, slowly freezing to death, squawking and fluttering around in their death agony] In the minds of animal rights activists and humanitarians, an ATROCITY and HOLOCAUST without redemption was being committed!!

In response to the spraying and killing of the birds, some gadfly in New York City sued to prevent the Army from killing the “blackbirds” in an inhumane manner!! An outraged Kentuckian responded by suing to prevent the city of New York from killing rats in an inhumane manner!!

Extraordinary measures were required and implemented. Extraordinary situations require extraordinary measures? Surely this was the case?

coolbert.

BASH III.

This is coolbert:

Please see earlier BASH I and BASH II entries.

BASH. "A bird strike (sometimes birdstrike, bird hit, or BASH - Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard) is a collision between an airborne animal (usually a bird or bat) and a man-made vehicle, especially aircraft. It is a common threat to aircraft safety, and has caused a number of fatal accidents."

Collision with bird or birds, BASH, a bird-strike on a military aircraft, with possible fatal consequences, was a problem most egregiously encountered, for a period of decades, on Midway Island, Pacific Ocean?

Prior to, during and in the aftermath of [for the entire period of the Cold War], Midway Island was a vital military outpost. The airfield and attendant facilities on Midway played a significant, perhaps even irreplaceable role as part of U.S. war planning and war making capability?

[Midway became a U.S. possession as a consequence of the Guano Act of 1856. Uninhabited, unclaimed oceanic territory of no real importance until the age of aviation. An island perfectly situated halfway between Asia and Hawaii. Ideally suited as a military facility, most specifically, an airfield!!]

An airfield plagued by presence of the Laysan albatross. The black-footed booby! Called the gooney bird by the locals. A large bird, with a wingspan of up to seven feet in a fully grown adult. Indiscriminate nesters, begetting themselves in prodigious numbers, oblivious to the presence of man. AND AN ENDANGERED AND PROTECTED SPECIES!!



Birds, in particular the albatross, presenting an extreme danger of BASH to aircraft either taking off or landing. A danger for which there seemed to be no amelioration. The U.S. Navy did adopt all sorts of measures to scare away, intimidate, move, "shoo" away the goonies, but to no avail. The gooney is not easily frightened by man or the activities of man, MAN IS TRESPASSING IN THE RESERVE OF THE ALBATROSS, NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! Nonetheless, the danger to military aircraft from BASH at Midway could not be described in any way other than BAD!!



That aircraft landing in the background has to run a gauntlet of albatross? Notice that the roosting area for the albatross is in exact proximity to the landing strip. And the air appears to be full [almost on a biblical scale!!] of airborne albatross, each and every one of those birds posing a danger to the landing aircraft!!

Here, from a U.S. Air Force document dated 1968. Speaking of the gooney bird problem on Midway:

"the goony birds at Midway Island. These are just off the parking ramp and you can see the high density there. The operations people said, 'Should we continue to operate in the daytime or at night?' So we did a little exercise . . . we computed the number of tons in the wingspread of these goony birds based on the population these operating the daytime as against night light. We came up with some fantastic figures on how much bird meat there was in the air during the daytime with this population versus how few in terms of petrels and other night flying birds. . . . an impact and ingestion at night might be many times worse than one in the day time. But in any case, this problem is the most severe of any we have in the Air force [U.S. Navy too for that matter] today."

Again - - A LOT OF CONSIDERATION WAS GIVEN TO MITIGATING THE POSSIBILITY OF BASH INCIDENTS AT MIDWAY. The experts were called in and their final concerted opinion was to have landings and takeoffs restricted to nighttime. But - - what if a military mission requires a daylight take off or landing? The mission comes first - - forget about the danger?

Also, it had been observed that the albatross would not nest on a paved surface, concrete or asphalt. SERIOUS CONSIDERATION WAS GIVEN TO PAVING OVER THE ENTIRE ISLAND OF MIDWAY. This was not done, and the albatross are forever grateful.

Midway has now been abandoned by the military, and is now a nature refuge and sanctuary. Visitors can obtain a permit to observe the wildlife, BUT VISITING AIRCRAFT MUST ONLY FLY IN/OUT DURING HOURS OF DARKNESS BASH INCIDENT BE DAMNED! ["at night might be many times worse than one in the day time"].

coolbert.

BASH II.

This is coolbert:

BASH. "A bird strike (sometimes birdstrike, bird hit, or BASH - Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard) is a collision between an airborne animal (usually a bird or bat) and a man-made vehicle, especially aircraft. It is a common threat to aircraft safety, and has caused a number of fatal accidents."

The man who piloted the Airbus into the Hudson river, saving the lives of all on board, is a NATURAL?

Chesley Sullenberger III. "Sully"!



A pilot, more correctly, A FLIER, who first learned the business of aviation from his experiences as a glider pilot at the Air Force Academy.

Learned to FLY in the most basic and rudimentary of aircraft, without power, developing a skill set that has served him well throughout his career.

Again, a NATURAL!! Demonstrated marked ability from the get-go! The type of man the Academy is looking for but rarely finds!

"During his tenure at the Academy, he was selected as one of around a dozen other freshmen who were enrolled into a cadet glider program, and by the end of that year he was an instructor pilot. In his graduation year, he received the Outstanding Cadet in Airmanship Award, which is given to the top flier in each graduating class."

A FLIER as opposed to a pilot!!

The U.S. Air Force Academy runs "the largest glider operation in the world"!! The basic and most rudimentary instruction in flight and piloting is taught by learning how to fly a glider [sailplane]!!

"Soaring occurs at the Academy on a year-round basis. The program is the largest glider operation in the world. Its mission is to form the foundation of cadet exposure to military aviation, build character, and help motivate cadets toward a career in the United States Air Force."

"Retired aviation technology professor [Purdue] Charles Holleman also said Sullenberger's experience as a glider pilot may have given him an edge in landing his crippled Airbus A320 jet safely in the Hudson River.

NO - - it was the edge that gave "Sully" the marked advantage that he and all those passengers needed. IT was the edge!!

[the manner with which that Airbus had to brought to a successful landing would have required a reaction that would have been counter-intuitive? Put the nose over and place the aircraft into a dive, even without power? Build up speed by doing so, place moving air over the wings, allowing the pilot, "Sully" to guide the aircraft to a controlled landing.]

Bravo "Sully"!!

coolbert.

BASH I.

This is coolbert:

Who has not heard of the most recent bird strike incident? A commercial jet airliner, upon take-off, flies into a flock of birds [geese], ingests several birds [ingest, that is the correct term!!] causing shutdown in both engines! A potentially catastrophic situation that came to a most fortunate end, the entire complement of passengers and crew being saved, emerging from the landing on the Hudson River unscathed.

Almost a miracle!! First the plane is in the air. Then flies into the bird flock [geese?]. Then the birds are ingested into the engines [2 engines]. Then the engines cutout. Then the pilots REPORT SMELLING COOKED BIRD!! Then the dead-stick [?], powered down landing into the Hudson, safely so. Amazing?

The military too has a keen interest in preventing and mitigating bird strikes.

Also referred to as Foreign Object Damage [FOD]! Measures to prevent items, bird and otherwise, from being “ingested” into a jet engine [not to minimize the danger to propeller driven aircraft either].

FOD can include all and any objects beyond a bird strike. To include, but not limited to: paper, nuts and bolts, pieces of tire, small animals, twigs, branches, wind-blown objects, etc. AND IN TIME OF WAR, BOMB-DAMAGE [CHUNKS OF CONCRETE] TO THE RUNWAY ITSELF!!

Here is a military combat aircraft that has incorporated into the basic design a means to combat FOD! The Soviet/Russian Su-27.


An integral titanium grille, covering the jet engine air inlet, provides FOD protection. A grille, in place, only when in the take-off mode [landing mode too?]! A grille made of a strong but very light metal, preventing serious engine ingestion. Mitigates and minimizes, maybe even totally eliminates [?] the possibility of catastrophic engine failure from FOD!!



THAT TITANIUM GRILLE ALLOWS FOR THE Su-27 TO OPERATE FROM AN UNIMPROVED AIRFIELD IN TIME OF WAR!! THIS IS A BIG PLUS?!

It should be clarified that the titanium grille can be and should be in place only during take-offs and landings? Cannot be used at altitude when the aircraft is at high speed? Will distort the airflow into the engine inlet in such a manner that engine efficiency and actual operation will be compromised. Catastrophic engine failure and shutdown can occur when the plane is at high speed - - and with the grille in place?

coolbert.