Part of Integrated Wildlife Damage Management (IWDM), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Wildlife Services (WS) Airport Wildlife Hazard Management Program Wildlife Biologist Michael Pacheco is on Runway 33 Right searching for wildlife activity that may pose a threat to aviation safety at Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) - Randolph, in San Antonio, TX, on April 23, 2020.
A dove can easily take out a jet engine costing more than $250,000.
While in the runway area, his tools of dissuasion and dispersal include his presence, a pistol that fires a two-inch noisemaking rocket, sounds of distressed birds, or bird of prey from a vehicle-mounted speaker, and the remote firing of a propane cannon to simulate the sound of gunfire. If all else fails and using another runway is not an option, then a shotgun can be used for a persistent safety threat in the air or on the ground. Sparing use of lethal force helps to reinforce the non-lethal methods.
For more information and related videos, PLEASE see the APHIS-Airport Wildlife Hazard Management Program at Randolph Field album description.
USDA Photo by Lance Cheung. Original public domain image from Flickr