The next time you land safely in Seattle, you may want to thank Steve Osmek.
Wildlife biologist Steve Osmek checks a radar screen for information on birds close to the Seattle airport.
He's the wildlife biologist whose job is to make sure that birds
don't get in the way of airplanes arriving and departing Seattle Tacoma
International Airport.
Even though the bird strikes that recently
caused US Airways Flight 1549 to lose both engines and land in New
York's Hudson River has brought greater urgency to the issue, the danger
presented by avian life is nothing new to Sea-Tac. The airport has had a
wildlife biologist on staff since the 1970s, Osmek says, and annually
spends about $250,000 on bird-removal operations.
Osmek and a
crew of about 20 helpers use low-tech and high-tech methods to guard
against bird strikes. First, they combat the environments that attract
birds by planting foliage that prevents them from landing and by
covering any nearby bodies of water with netting.
"The main
thing is to make sure the birds are not used to coming here to the
airport," Osmek says. "They don't get used to feeding here, nesting here
and in turn coming into closer contact with the aircraft."
Birds that still stray into Sea-Tac airspace are harassed relentlessly.
Osmek uses a laser with a scope on it to shine a green light near
birds. The light flashing near the birds mimics a predator stalking
them, Osmek says, and usually causes them to take flight. For more
persistent opponents, Osmek reaches into the deep arsenal of what he
calls his "pyrotechnics."
They are explosive shells that he uses to ward off birds --
sometimes large flocks of them -- entering airspace near the airport's
three runways. Osmek fires the shells with a variety of pistols or a
shotgun. Some boom loudly, and others scream into the sky before blowing
up into puffs of smoke.
One projectile travels up to 1,200 feet
before exploding like a thunderclap. It is intended to ward off
high-flying birds like hawks or eagles. Osmek says the pyrotechnics only
scare the birds and do not harm them.
"We're not aiming the
pyrotechnics right at them," he explains. "We are usually aiming to
where we can direct them to a safer place."
Using the pyrotechnics is also economical. One shell costs about $10,
Osmek says, while a bird strike on a plane can cost hundreds of
thousands of dollars in damage or much worse.
But the airport's
most valuable tool, Osmek says, isn't one that scares off birds -- it's
one that helps find them. In three separate locations around the airport
are avian radar terminals that track the birds within six miles of the
airport and up to 3,000 feet.
The radar is similar to marine radar but used for a very different
application. The avian radar allows the bird crew at the 2,700-acre
airport to focus on specific areas.
"[The birds] are objects I
don't see with my naked eye, but you look at the radar and it raises
your awareness of those areas where you should take another look," Osmek
explains. "I may scan with my binoculars, but I might not necessarily
know where to scan, but now I know there's a bird there."
Innovations to the radar now help airport staff determine at what
altitude the birds are flying. After studying the radar long enough,
Osmek can tell from flight patterns what kind of bird he is looking at.
It's important when trying to
prevent bird strikes to know if you are
dealing with a sparrow or Canada goose.
Ed Herricks, a University of Illinois professor who placed the radar at
Sea-Tac
and works with Accipiter, the maker of the radar, says the next
challenge for the systems will be further implementing them into airport
operations without "crying wolf."
"There is a critical need to
have the data moved into the decision-making process of controllers and
pilots," Herricks says. But, he adds: "You want to be absolutely sure
when you say something is there that something is there."
Tim
Nohara, the president of Accipiter, foresees a time soon when the radar
will not only help biologists on the ground but will be part of the
information coming into airport control towers like weather and wind
shear data. Electronic alerts could be sent to controllers or pilots if
they are flying too closely to a flock of birds, Nohara says.
"With the
bird radar, airports can be much more effective in the
strategies they employ," Nohara says. And if bird strikes do occur, the
radar "will help investigators determine what happened," he says.
O'Hare in Chicago, JFK in New York and Dallas Fort-Worth are airports slated to receive similar radar systems this year.
