Bird radar recommended for bird strikes at airports

[Anchor]

This is a bird detection radar installed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in the United States.

The radar detects the location, speed, and direction of birds to prevent collision accidents with aircraft.

It can also store bird activity data and analyze patterns.

It has been introduced at airports in the United States and Europe, but there are currently no such systems at domestic civilian airports, except for the Seosan Airbase.

While the detection rate is not high when one or two birds fly in, there are calls to consider its introduction given the increasing frequency of bird strikes.

Following the incident at Muan Airport, concerns about bird strikes at other airports are also growing.

First, we looked into the situation at Gimhae Airport.

This is Jeong Hyung-seo reporting.

[Report]

Flames erupt from the right engine of a passenger plane.

It is presumed that a bird was sucked into the engine.

Gimhae Airport is also exposed to a high risk of bird strike accidents.

This is because the Nakdong River estuary, the largest migratory bird habitat in the country, is located near Gimhae Airport.

Every year, about 170,000 migratory birds, including relatively large swans, cranes, and geese, visit this area.

From 2019 to August of this year, the number of bird strikes at Gimhae Airport totaled 147, the highest among 14 regional airports nationwide.

[Kwon Ki-joo/Gyeongnam Gimhae City: "There seem to be a lot of migratory birds, and because of that, many people are stationed at the airport to shoot at the birds."]

Korea Airports Corporation and the Air Force have deployed 32 dedicated personnel at Gimhae Airport to chase away flocks of birds flying into the airport.

However, monitoring birds moving from outside the airport is limited to issuing alerts through visual observation.

There are calls for the urgent introduction of 'bird detection radar' that can detect bird movements from a relatively long distance and issue alerts.

[Hyun Dong-seon/Former Air Force 20th Fighter Wing Bird Control Officer: "The bird detection radar can monitor up to 12 km, so pilots can be sufficiently advised and take action."]

The installation cost of bird detection radar is about 3 billion won per unit.

Apart from Incheon Airport, other domestic airports have not even begun to consider its introduction.

This is Jeong Hyung-seo from KBS News.