BCU, often the extended eyes of Air Traffic and deemed a Flight safety tool of most Airports, controlling birds and lowering the risk of birdstrike. Must be a good thing then? Not at Plymouth City Airport (UK) as recently the 'birdman' was made redundant due to 'financial' reasons.
With the recent media attention focussed on a birdstrike which resulted in a forced landing on the Hudson river of an airliner, you would think an Airport authority would protect the one asset to help prevent it happening in the UK.....wrong.
The BCU at Plymouth was introduced 12 years ago
because of the high number of birdstrikes sustained as the Airport fire service were clearly unable to cope with all the extra duties heaped upon them, bird control being one of them. ATC fought well to keep their BCU but in the end it was to no avail.
Bird control has reverted back to the AFS and the birdstrikes are now climbing higher than previous years. 5 probably 6, possibly 7, same period last year 1 possibly 2
Plymouth might be able to write the best procedures in the world, very different thing in being able to carry them out.
and the trouble is.........................this is the easy bit, just wait till August
