Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) has the potential to transform transportation. Emerging aircraft technologies, increased passenger and cargo operations, and new travel routes will challenge regulators, aircraft operators, and local communities to address new considerations and ongoing challenges in innovative ways.
AAM proposes the use of comparatively smaller and quieter vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft fueled by electricity from batteries or hydrogen fuel cells. Aircraft will operate at low altitudes to transport of people and goods among diverse geographies—from remote areas to dense urban centers. While AAM offers benefits to enhance transportation options and reduce aviation-related environmental effects, AAM aircraft operations will remain vulnerable to an existing aviation challenge: wildlife strikes.
Wildlife Strikes: An Ongoing Concern
For nearly 35 years, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has collected and analyzed wildlife strike data, which indicate that approximately 70 percent of the wildlife strikes with transport aircraft and 71 percent of the wildlife strikes associated with general aviation aircraft occurred at altitudes of less than 500 feet, and 96 percent of the strikes occurred at altitudes below 3,500 feet (FAA 2024).
These data are of particular concern because AAM operations are anticipated to:
- Operate at low altitudes of approximately 400 to 4,000 feet AGL, where most wildlife strikes occur
- Use quieter aircraft, which may be less perceptible to wildlife and reduce the amount of time available for evasive behavior
- Occur in new locations, including urban areas, which present different types of habitat and wildlife risks
- Involve comparatively smaller aircraft, which may be more vulnerable to damage in the event of a wildlife strike
Risk Detection and Mitigation
To address the ongoing risk of wildlife strikes, diverse aviation stakeholders must collaborate to identify and reduce risk. Such collaboration must include regulators, aircraft manufacturers, facility operators, and host communities.
Several tools are available to promote effective wildlife management:
1) Regulatory & Policy Frameworks
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have worked together for decades to develop wildlife hazard management regulations and guidance for airport operators, and the overall rate of damaging strikes has decreased at commercial-service airports over time. To address wildlife strikes at proposed AAM facilities or “vertiports,” FAA, USDA, and industry experts must collaborate to develop safety regulations and guidance to reduce the risk of wildlife strikes during AAM operations. In addition, FAA aircraft certification should consider a potential aircraft’s ability to maintain or recover operations immediately following a wildlife strike.
2) Facility Siting and Planning
While many AAM operations will be initiated from existing airports and heliports, new vertiports will be developed to implement AAM and initiate flight operations in new environments. Diverse stakeholders must be aware of wildlife hazard management and risk reduction throughout facility siting and planning. For example:
- Facility planners must consider the presence of on-site and nearby habitat when identifying a new vertiport site
- Facility architects and designers must be careful to prevent the creation of wildlife attractants in their building, landscaping, and drainage designs
- Facility operators must consider FAA guidance to identify and avoid wildlife risks during facility operations and maintenance
3) Consider the Corridor!
Traditional wildlife hazard management strategies for fixed-wing aircraft have focused on the airport and adjacent environments, or the areas aircraft fly over at low altitudes associated with takeoff and landing. AAM aircraft are likely to fly at low altitudes throughout the flight, however, indicating that route planners must also consider the presence of wildlife and wildlife attractants throughout the entire flight corridor.
4) Advanced Detection Systems
Advanced radar and acoustic detection systems can help identify and track wildlife presence in real time. Including these systems on board aircraft or conveying real-time data to pilots during AAM operations can enhance situational awareness and provide increased opportunities for strike avoidance.
5) Pilot/Operator Training
Although AAM scenarios envision fully automated flight in the future, near-term operations are likely to include onboard pilots, and pilot training is important to avoiding and preventing wildlife. Potential tools for pilot training include:
- Awareness Programs – training programs for pilots and operators could include education on wildlife strike prevention and strike response strategies
- Simulation Training – simulation technologies can be used to train pilots to respond to wildlife strike scenarios and prepare them for real-world incidents
We’re in This Together!
It is incumbent upon the aviation industry to educate new aviation operators about wildlife strikes and the risks wildlife poses to aircraft operations. By working together, regulatory agencies, aviation experts, OEMS, environmental scientists, and community planners can leverage new technology to formulate effective policies and guidance to avoid and reduce wildlife strikes.
