Green Laser Beams could beat Deadly Bird Threat at Airports

Laser beams sweeping airport runways to scare away birds could help civil aviation authorities beat a big threat to aircraft safety at take off and landing.

Around 50,000 bird strikes on civil aviation aircraft are recorded worldwide every year, with 11% affecting the flight and some of the incidents leading to fatal crashes.

The threat is greatest when birds crash into windscreens or are sucked into jet engines, but a French idea to be unveiled in the Middle East later this year could help solve the problem.

Lord Ingénierie has developed an automatic laser system to tackle the threat posed by birds to aircraft, and the TOM500 will be introduced at the Airport Build & Supply Exhibition in Dubai June.

The system uses a green laser beam, as research by ornithologists from the French civil aviation authority (DGAC) found that birds’ eyes are more sensitive to green light, and is so far-reaching that a single unit can cover a runway up to two kilometres long.

Birds flying near runways and interfering with aeroplanes’ take-off and landing are a potentially deadly problem for airports. According to figures released by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) in 2003, air accidents caused by bird strikes had up until then resulted in the loss of 400 lives and the destruction of 420 aircraft. Ninety per cent of all birdstrikes happen at or around airports.

Civil aviation officials and other visitors to the Airport Build & Supply Exhibition, will be able to see the laser in action as technicians from Lord Ingénierie will give demonstrations using a smaller hand-held version.

Project manager Alain Danielou believes the Middle East will become an important market for the new TOM500 system and says the exhibition is vital for securing business in the region, “This is brand new technology and totally different to traditional methods of dealing with birds at airports such as acoustic and pyrotechnic systems. The Dubai exhibition is a great opportunity to convince visitors of the TOM500’s benefits and make contact with potential customers. Many major airports in the Middle East are near the coast and airports close to the sea tend to have particular problems with birds.”

Lord Ingénierie took around one-and-a-half years to develop the TOM500 system after being awarded the contract by DGAC. The system has been on test for more than a year at Montpellier Airport in France. During this time there have been no collisions with birds or any sign that birds are becoming accustomed to the laser. The product went on the market in 2005 and the company received their first order in January this year to install it at another French airport.

The TOM500 laser automatically begins scanning runways at regular intervals on pre-programmed paths once light levels go below a certain point. Birds are frightened away by the stick-like effect of the laser. The beam is close to the ground, causes no visual problems for pilots and is harmless to eyes and skin.

Danielou said, “The problem that birds pose to aircraft at night has until recently been underestimated because of the assumption that birds are roosting. However birds are easily disturbed and according to the ICAO forty per cent of bird collisions happen at night. The TOM500 is particularly useful in the Middle East as, for much of the year, the light fades at around 6pm and there are 12 hours of darkness. We hope to find a regional distributor for the product at the Airport Build & Supply Exhibition.”

Taking place from June 5 – 7, 2006 at Airport Expo Dubai, the Airport Build & Supply Exhibition is expected to attract more than 400 of the world’s leading airport and aviation suppliers, who are aiming to capitalise on more than US$ 40 billion worth of airport developments currently taking place across the Middle East.

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