Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Animal Sciences
Strike Hazard Posed By Columbids To Military Aircraft, Melanie R. Colón, Ashley M. Long
Strike Hazard Posed By Columbids To Military Aircraft, Melanie R. Colón, Ashley M. Long
Human–Wildlife Interactions
Wildlife-aircraft strikes threaten both human and animal safety and result in hundreds of millions of dollars per year in aircraft damage and lost flight hours. Large-bodied birds are especially hazardous to aircraft. However, given high-speed flight at low altitudes, military aircraft may be especially vulnerable to strikes and more susceptible to damage even when encountering small birds. We summarized all wildlife-aircraft strike records from Randolph Air Force Base (San Antonio, Texas) over a 25-year period and compared the number and cost of strikes across avian species and species groups. Because columbids (i.e., pigeons and doves) are among the most frequently …