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By GERRY
BAKSYS
H&N Staff Writer
August 29, 2006
When a bug hits a car windshield, it can be messy but it's generally not
dangerous. But when a bird hits an airplane, the pilot's heart stops.
Birds and airplanes have collided too
many times at the Klamath Falls International Airport near Kingsley Field.
Corporate jets, Horizon planes and fighter jets routinely fly in and out of
the airfield.
So do Canada geese, ducks and other birds.
$4.2 million project
Which is why airport officials have started a $4.2-million project to decrease
wetlands - and therefore the number of birds - near the airport.
“Birds around aircraft is a big safety issue,” said Ann Crook, director of
the Klamath Falls airport. “We've had real problems with all of the birds
that are attracted to the water around the airport.”
The loss of wetlands will be mitigated by adding wetlands at other sites.
Eight birds struck aircraft in 2004 and 2003, and there were 11 bird-plane
collisions in 2001, Crook said.
The incidents included several Canada geese that struck a corporate jet, a
goose that hit a propeller and wing of an airline flight and a duck that hit a
commercial flight's windshield.
Geese often weigh 10 pounds or more. Ducks are smaller. Many waterfowl live in the Klamath Basin and many more migrate through it.
Past bird-plane collisions caused
damage to aircraft, Crook said, but didn't cause any accidents or injuries to
crew or passengers.
In a 2003 document, the Federal Aviation Administration said that between 1990
and 1999, that there were 2,612 bird-plane collisions nationwide, 458
involving geese, 166 involving ducks and 182 involving hawks. Geese, ducks and
hawks are common Klamath Basin birds.
The $4.2 million for the Klamath Falls airport will fund a three-part
environmental mitigation plan. The first phase, funded by a 2004 FAA grant,
was used to study wildlife around the airport and develop a plan.
The next phase will include
construction to alleviate the problem.
“That will be cleaning out the drain that runs along the east side of the
airport,” Crook said. “And it will mean installing a pump in the Klamath
Irrigation Pond. We expect work to start and finish later this fall.”
Estimated to cost $2.5 million, a third phase is scheduled
to start next year.
“The Air National Guard has also given us $700,000 because they realize that
this is a problem for them too,” Crook said. “But we are still waiting on
Congress to approve the funds next year.”
Crook said the final aspect
project will include an environmental assessment and drainage of some of the
wetlands surrounding the airport.
“(It) will focus on eliminating ponds,” she said, “and it will entail
getting wetland mitigation permits for state lands from the state and the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers.”
