Wildlife Strikes with U.S. Military Rotary-wing Aircraft Deployed in Foreign Countries

During recent decades, rotary-wing aircraft (helicopters) within the U.S. Department of Defense (e.g., U.S Army and U.S. Air Force) have been deployed overseas to conduct a variety of noncombat and combat missions. Our objective was to conduct a comprehensive analysis of wildlife (birds, bats, insec...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Brian E. Washburn, Paul J. Cisar, Travis L. DeVault
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Utah State University 2017-02-01
Series:Human-Wildlife Interactions
Subjects:
Online Access:https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol8/iss2/11
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author Brian E. Washburn
Paul J. Cisar
Travis L. DeVault
author_facet Brian E. Washburn
Paul J. Cisar
Travis L. DeVault
author_sort Brian E. Washburn
collection DOAJ
description During recent decades, rotary-wing aircraft (helicopters) within the U.S. Department of Defense (e.g., U.S Army and U.S. Air Force) have been deployed overseas to conduct a variety of noncombat and combat missions. Our objective was to conduct a comprehensive analysis of wildlife (birds, bats, insects) strikes with U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force rotarywing aircraft during overseas deployments. We acquired all available wildlife strike information involving U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force military rotary-wing aircraft engaged in flight operations associated with U.S. military bases around the world during 1990 to 2011. Wildlife strikes with military rotary-wing aircraft occurred in >31 foreign countries. Almost two-thirds of wildlife strikes to U.S. Army aircraft occurred during deployments in the Middle East (e.g., Iraq), whereas, strikes to U.S. Air Force aircraft occurred most frequently in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Month, time of day, and location (i.e., on airfield or off airfield) influenced the frequency of wildlife strikes. Wildlife strikes occurred most frequently when aircraft were traveling en route or were engaged in terrain flight. Larks, doves, pigeons, and various perching birds were the species most frequently struck by military aircraft. Wildlife strike records related to U.S. military overseas operations represent a unique source of ornithological information from areas of military conflict.
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spelling doaj.art-27b1641eb15640be8a87f34b71a050c12022-12-21T21:18:53ZengUtah State UniversityHuman-Wildlife Interactions2155-38742155-38742017-02-018210.26077/qtyp-5933Wildlife Strikes with U.S. Military Rotary-wing Aircraft Deployed in Foreign CountriesBrian E. Washburn0Paul J. Cisar1Travis L. DeVault2U.S. Department of AgricultureU.S. Army Aberdeen Test CenterU.S. Department of AgricultureDuring recent decades, rotary-wing aircraft (helicopters) within the U.S. Department of Defense (e.g., U.S Army and U.S. Air Force) have been deployed overseas to conduct a variety of noncombat and combat missions. Our objective was to conduct a comprehensive analysis of wildlife (birds, bats, insects) strikes with U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force rotarywing aircraft during overseas deployments. We acquired all available wildlife strike information involving U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force military rotary-wing aircraft engaged in flight operations associated with U.S. military bases around the world during 1990 to 2011. Wildlife strikes with military rotary-wing aircraft occurred in >31 foreign countries. Almost two-thirds of wildlife strikes to U.S. Army aircraft occurred during deployments in the Middle East (e.g., Iraq), whereas, strikes to U.S. Air Force aircraft occurred most frequently in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Month, time of day, and location (i.e., on airfield or off airfield) influenced the frequency of wildlife strikes. Wildlife strikes occurred most frequently when aircraft were traveling en route or were engaged in terrain flight. Larks, doves, pigeons, and various perching birds were the species most frequently struck by military aircraft. Wildlife strike records related to U.S. military overseas operations represent a unique source of ornithological information from areas of military conflict.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol8/iss2/11afghanistanhelicoptershuman–wildlife conflictsiraqmilitaryrotary-wing aircraftwildlife strikes
spellingShingle Brian E. Washburn
Paul J. Cisar
Travis L. DeVault
Wildlife Strikes with U.S. Military Rotary-wing Aircraft Deployed in Foreign Countries
Human-Wildlife Interactions
afghanistan
helicopters
human–wildlife conflicts
iraq
military
rotary-wing aircraft
wildlife strikes
title Wildlife Strikes with U.S. Military Rotary-wing Aircraft Deployed in Foreign Countries
title_full Wildlife Strikes with U.S. Military Rotary-wing Aircraft Deployed in Foreign Countries
title_fullStr Wildlife Strikes with U.S. Military Rotary-wing Aircraft Deployed in Foreign Countries
title_full_unstemmed Wildlife Strikes with U.S. Military Rotary-wing Aircraft Deployed in Foreign Countries
title_short Wildlife Strikes with U.S. Military Rotary-wing Aircraft Deployed in Foreign Countries
title_sort wildlife strikes with u s military rotary wing aircraft deployed in foreign countries
topic afghanistan
helicopters
human–wildlife conflicts
iraq
military
rotary-wing aircraft
wildlife strikes
url https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/hwi/vol8/iss2/11
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AT travisldevault wildlifestrikeswithusmilitaryrotarywingaircraftdeployedinforeigncountries