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Wildlife Strikes & Mitigation

Wildlife Strikes & Mitigation

FAA Airport Safety Information Video series- Wildlife Hazard Mitigation
Aviation wildlife strikes risk lives and property. Strike hazard mitigation is a global challenge being addressed the world over. In the United States alone the cost to the airline industry is estimated to exceed one billion dollars annually. And the costs are climbing each year. Increasing numbers of flight operations, increasing population sizes of large flocking birds, and faster aircraft with quieter engines all equate to more opportunities for aircraft and birds to collide. Despite these trends, damaging strike rates (numbers of damaging strikes compared to the total strike numbers) are not steadily climbing. (Learn more in the most recent FAA National Strike Database Serial Report.) It is thought that effective wildlife mitigation programs at and near airports combined with public awareness of these challenges are having a positive effect. How do we know? How can we track these trends?

Report Strikes
Reporting strikes to the **FAA Strike Database is voluntary, but provides crucial data needed to understand wildlife hazards to aviation at the national level. Further, documenting strikes helps airports understand their challenges, and helps them determine the efficacy of their wildlife hazard mitigation programs when they compare the data from year to year.

Important tips:

    • Provide as much information about a strike as you can.
    • File the strike report as soon as possible.
    • Do not assume you need to fill in all fields of a Strike Report. Just report what you can.
    • Reports can be revised! You can access the report later to make changes or add information.
    • Ensure Airport Name self populates in the Airport field by pausing your cursor before moving to the next field.
    • Species Identification is crucial! Collect Strike remains and send them to the Smithsonian Lab.
    • If you have questions or need help, contact the Strike Database Staff:


There are many resources, guides, research publications, and other support tools to help mitigate wildlife hazards to aviation. Airport wildlife hazard mitigation programs are regulated, supported, and guided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and applicable federal, state, and even local laws. See the BSC web pages provided for links to these regulations, publications, and guides.
