The Bird Control Unit at Casement Aerodrome

The Air Corps’ headquarters at Casement Aerodrome is a 24hr international airport, accommodating four runways, a busy operational ramp and a military camp within its 750 acres. Last year our Air Traffic Service handled over 20,000 movements and at any one time there can be a high frequency of aircraft operating around the airfield from helicopters at low level to PC 9s carrying out circuit training.
An area as large as our aerodrome has its own eco-system of wildlife and Casement is famous for its marching hares and diverse collection of wild birds. But unfortunately in aviation this amount of wildlife can pose particular threat to aircraft, with the possibility of serious airframe damage, smashed cockpit windows or even engine failure when the two meet.
Think of the damage a sluggish wild pigeons can cause to the windscreen of a slow moving car and increase the destruction proportionally to the high speed of the military aircraft!
For this reason the Air Corps employ a specialised Bird Control Unit to control the wildlife in our Aerodrome.
Meet Niel Mitham, Sampson and Rihanna from the Air Corps' BCU and find out in this short clip how they keep the birds and aircraft apart.