AN UNPRECEDENTED HISTORY OF MILITARY AIRCRAFT BIRD STRIKES IN ROMANIA

This paper tackles a never-before-approached topic in Romania, as it aims to empirically analyse the 26 cases of collision between military aircrafts and birds that occurred between 1967 and 1991. The work is based exclusively on observations made by the Head of the Meteorological Department of the Romanian Military Aviation Commandment between 1990 and 1993, commander (retired) and meteorologist. This paper complements various scientific and statistical studies in the field, which lacked information about military aircraft bird strikes in Romania. In addition to these 26 collisions, 3 other incidents involving military aircrafts may have been bird-related. They occurred in 2002 (2, one of which was a catastrophe that lead to the pilot’s death) and 2007 (1 incident). The study objectives were to analyse the collisions’ locations (prevalence of certain aerodromes), the atmospheric and seasonal conditions in which the collisions occurred, and the types of aircrafts and bird species involved in the incidents, which resulted in a map of the analyses’ main elements. In terms of results and conclusions, it was found that in Romania, in the analysed period, most of the collisions occurred in areas where aerodromes were located in the vicinity of water sources, in autumn, followed by spring, which is linked to the birds’ migration activity, as well as to agricultural practices, as birds relocate in order to look for food sources. Most collisions occurred during the day, under normal meteorological conditions, up to altitudes of 400-500 m. It was also noticed that in over 50% of cases collisions occurred in the vicinity of aerodromes, most often during landing. The most important element that favours bird presence near aerodromes is food and water source availability, which is followed by the availability of various nesting-suitable locations. This study also touches on flight ornithological insurance, factors that stimulate bird concentration near aerodromes, recommendations for ensuring flight safety from an ornithological perspective, as well as methods used to hinder bird presence near aerodromes