I was delighted to accept an invitation to speak at the recent FOD, Birdstrike and Runway Safety Conference in Dubai, under the patronage of the UAE GCAA and Dubai CAA (pictured right).

Of the many topics discussed, the one which really caught my attention was birdstrikes. Fresh in all our minds is “the Miracle on the Hudson”, the made-for-hollywood real life incident involving US Airways Flight 1549. The reason the stoic, heroic Capt Sully had to calmly announce he was landing in the river was that the aircraft lost power after flying through a flock of Geese, remains of which were found in the engines. So the threat posed by birdstrikes is very real - in fact Andy Baxter, of the Bird Management Unit of UK government agency FERA, goes as far as to say it is the industry’s greatest threat.

I was intrigued to learn what is being done about what is, after all, a natural phenomenon over which we humans have little control. Or so I thought. After some reminders of the laws of physics, which predict what will happen when organic material is brought into contact with turbomachinery spinning at high rates of angular velocity, the conference turned to some of the technologies being deployed to avoid this happening.

The first stage is to identify the species of birds involved in an airstrike, which is easy enough if there are carcasses to identify. However these days microscopic feather identification from feather fragments and even DNA testing is used when there are only blood stains left on a fuselage or engine.

Once the species have been identified, the habitat management process can follow. This involves managing wetlands on the aerodrome that may attract certain species of birds, and the open spaces of grassland where birds come to forage for seeds and soil dwelling invertebrates. Research in grass cultivars have led to huge advancements also, such as grasses which produce natural insecticides, or species that leave birds feeling nauseous when ingested. Others have particular growth characteristics such as dense leaves, or swards which make alighting more uncomfortable. Fortunately, there are some low-tech solutions possible, such as the old favourite – netting. However all this research and technology shows yet again that when great minds and resources are applied to real-world problems, fascinating solutions are always found.

So this was all extremely interesting horticulture and ornithology – but what does it have to do with Gael, you may ask. Well, as I explained in my presentation on day two of the conference, all of the factors mentioned above are examples of risk management practices. The identification of a risk, it’s assessment and classification, and the controls that are put in place to mitigate that risk, are all part of the methodology used to ensure we fly with an acceptable level of risk. Gael’s new risk management product, Gael Risk, allows organisations to maintain their risk registers in an online system, shared by all who need access to it. The relationship between the risks and their controls is clearly identified, and the current status of the risk management plan is available at all times.

Of course, in the event an incident does occur, despite the best efforts of all concerned, it is important to also have a robust incident management system. Using Gael’s flagship Q-Pulse solution, the details of an incident can be captured in real time and an immediate investigation begun as per the incident management plan of the airport operator. This will ensure the incident is properly recorded, and no time is lost in restoring the aerodrome to normal operations. At airports the knock-on effect of runway closures in terms of customer service impacts, lost revenues and passenger inconvenience are huge, and need to be kept at a minimum.

In closing, one anecdote was particularly interesting. A European airport reports that in the winter evenings tens of thousands of gulls fly across the runway threshold from their feeding sites on the way home to roost. Birdstrikes are rare during these periods, because the birds literally wait for departing aircraft before crossing the runway. In the summer months those that are struck are juveniles of the same species. It would appear that the population is learning a survival strategy by avoiding the aircraft. Nature too is playing her part in birdstrike avoidance, it would seem.