Melbourne Airport


Aircraft Hazards Information

Bird hazards

A collision between an aircraft and one or more birds is termed a birdstrike. Birdstrikes may cause significant damage to an aircraft and/or, if the birds are ingested into a jet engine, a significant and sudden loss of power. If this happens during take-off or initial climb of a fully-loaded passenger aircraft, the result can be catastrophic.

Any bird is a potential hazard to aircraft, with the hazard increasing with the size of individual birds and the presence/ size of flocks of birds.

The Melbourne Airport Planting Guide provides advice on avoiding bird-attracting plantings in urban landscapes around the airport:

More information on Planting Guidelines can be found on the Environmental Page.

Dangerous lighting

At night, and during periods of poor visibility during the day, pilots rely on the particular pattern of the aeronautical ground lights, principally the approach and runway lights, to assist in aligning themselves with the runway and to touch down at the correct point. Therefore, other lights should not be displayed which could distract pilots or confuse them by being mistaken for aeronautical ground lights.

Section 9.21 of CASA’s Manual of Standards for aerodromes specifies a number of detailed requirements for lighting in the vicinity of aerodromes:

Advice for the guidance of designers and installation contractors is provided for situations where lights are to be installed within a 6km radius of a known aerodrome. Lights within this area fall into a category most likely to be subjected to the provisions of the regulation 94 of CAR 1988. Within this large area, there exists a primary area which is divided into four light control zones: A, B, C and D. These zones reflect the degree of interference ground lights can cause as a pilot approaches to land.

The primary area is shown in Figure 9.21-1. This drawing also nominates the intensity of light emission above which interference is likely. Lighting projects within this area should be closely examined to see they do not infringe the provision of regulation 94 of CAR 1988.

A copy of Melbourne Airport’s plan showing the 6km radius and Zones A, B, C and D for the purpose of regulation 94 of the Civil Aviation Regulations 1988 is available by clicking the link below:

Aircraft Hazards InformationAirport protection of airspace regulations (PDF 553KB)