Aviation FOD and BASH Issues

As hard as we try to manage the accountability of tools, hardware, and trash, objects still manage to be ingested into engines causing catastrophic failures. Most of the time the damage occurs on the ground, but every once in a while a piece of the aircraft comes loose or bird decides to share our airspace in flight. There are many programs out there and I would like to use this blog to discuss some of the issues with FOD and Bash management.

To someone unfamiliar to the the BASH programs the thought of birds actually disrupting the flow of air traffic or damaging an aircraft would sound absurd. Unfortunately it true, all airfields have a BASH program, some more complex than others, but this is also to accommodate the airports environment. On smaller airstrips it can be as simple as a maintenance keeper chasing the birds around with an air cannon. Larger airfields go far more in depth to research of how to control their bird problems. Depending on the type of fowl in area the length of the grass is even key. Certain birds nest in larger grass and others enjoy feeding on bugs in the shorter. Maintenance personnel follow a strict mowing schedule to ensure the grass is cut at a perfect medium to prevent accommodation of either types of fowl.

One methods commonly used is air cannons and loudspeakers. An air canons are eclectically controlled cannons that fire large volumes of compressed through a large tube. Another method is loudspeakers, the squawk of a bird of prey is emitted to scare smaller birds away. All of these methods are quite effective in making the airstrips less appealing to birds.