Recent development in aviation services in Kunming is being badly
affected by the hidden dangers of unforeseen bird strikes. In fact,
one-third of the maintenance cost of Kunming International Airport
is taken up in its prevention.
According to the vice-director of the airport office, Wang Lin, the
problem is locally created.
"Pigeons fed by farmers who live around the airfield are dangerous
to the safety of the airplane service." As recently as January, two
planes were badly damaged by flying pigeons while they approached
for landing at Kunming International Airport. The cost of the
damage was said to be in excess of 1 million yuan (US$120,664) for
the airline company.
The bird strike phenomenon seems to be making a serious impact on
world aviation services. According to the World Bird Strike
Association there are 607 accidents caused in such a manner every
year in Japan with over 150 strikes causing accidents at Kennedy
International Airport each year. In China, 170 bird impact
accidents were reported in civil aviation airports between 1991 and
1997.
The problem in Kunming, and its frequency, appears to be a
geographic phenomenon caused by the migration of birds from the
north of China. Situated in Yunnan Province, a southwest highland
area of China, the weather tends from mild to warm and attracts
flocks of migratory birds. Unfortunately for aviation services
there, the airport is located en route of the migratory path.
According to the bird dispersal team that monitor activity at the
airport, there are 60 different kinds of birds passing overhead,
with more than 30 kinds remaining in the area for some time.
The team invariably adopts a system that drives the birds from the
airfield flight path and attempts to do no harm. Some are caught in
nets and released at a later date, while others, such as grass
owls, are kept for protection. Six grass owls were caught by the
team this January.
Birds that do stay in the area surrounding the airfield do so
because of the specific conditions of the airport as well as the
surrounding natural environment.
While Kunming develops, the city creeps closer to the airfield and
as the crow-flies the distance between the two is now only 6.6
kilometers. According to research conducted at the airfield office,
67 percent of people taking part in agricultural production, and 7
percent of migrant workers are conducting breeding and
slaughtering. Roughly 41 percent of people litter in the area,
which attracts the significant attention as food for the birds.
Hundreds of Larus ridibundus, or black headed gulls, swarm a
slaughterhouse only two kilometers from the airfield. According to
the bird team, they frequently have the misconception that the
airfield is a lake.
"We have to spend 800,000 to 1 million yuan (US$96,000 to 120,664)
to drive the birds from the airfield each year." Zheng Yuming,
section chief of the airfield construction office, said that the
bird dispersal team uses a bird control vehicle, a net,
noise-making devices, racket bombs and automatic gas exploders to
manage bird problems in the area.
The airport has invested 2 million yuan (US$241,328) on this
equipment. Now the noise-making device, which cost them 1.8 million
yuan (US$217,000), is redundant because of age. The net, on average
nine kilometers long, is replaced every three months. As racket
bombs are the most effective way to rid the area of birds, 200
bombs are used nearly every day, with that number rising up to 300
or 400 in the winter. The problem is that the racket bomb programs
cost around 360,000 yuan (US$43,000) annually. Another device is
the remote control eagle that the team intends to purchase at a
cost of US$30,000. This is why the maintenance budget allocates
one-third of its total to the activity.
Recently, the Civil Aviation Administration of Yunnan invested huge
money to bird control as well as in entrusting Yunnan Institute of
Environmental Science to conduct research on the topic and area
surrounding the airfield. Expert opinion suggests that the bird's
food source should be either eliminated or drastically reduced. But
with city development, there is pressure on the local city
government to improve the airport area. Garbage disposal plants,
slaughterhouses and fish processing factories should be re-situated
if the problem is to see a successful solution.
"Pigeons are more dangerous than other birds," says Chen Guoli,
leader of the bird dispersal team. There are more than 3,000
pigeons fed by villagers who live near and around the airfield. The
problem is they are no longer afraid of humans or airplanes. They
have a flying height of 30-50 meters which poses a real problem for
aircraft takeoffs and landings. Statistically, more than 27 percent
of people who feed pigeons are unaware of the problems the birds
can cause to aircraft. Seven accidents have happened since 2002, to
a huge cost to the economy, caused by flocks of pigeons.
Kunming is one of the five biggest international airfields in
China. More than 200 airplanes take off and land there daily, with
that number increasing to 400 during the holidays, especially
during the three Golden Week' holidays of Labor Day, National Day
and the Spring Festival.
(China.org.cn by Wu Nanlan February 17, 2003)