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Show JL Jli D Hill AFB, Utah 84056-582- 4 Vol. 52 No. 28, July 16. 1998 B Charred critters burn base brush burning body fell onto the grass below, burning an area about 20 by Lisa Ryan Hilltop Times staff A bird caused a small grass fire Monday at the intersection of Georgia and Indigo Streets near Bldg. 1515 in the Hill AFB West Area. There was minimal damage and no structures were damaged. Abird flew into substation number 3 and was electrocuted. Its INSIDE: Airman sings for Buzz Page 2 . Bwd i by 50 feet, according to Dispatcher A1C Joseph Padilla. Engine 8 of the fire department responded and the fire was out in three minutes. The bird also caused power to be lost for 22 minutes in the 1200 area buildings, MAMS 1, and Bldg. 891, according to Lynn Perkins, electrical foreman with the 75th Civil Engineering Group. It was fire reported the second recently in the area. But birds aren't the only problems. Squirrels and other rodents also cause problems with the substations, Perkins said. The Ogden ALC Safety Office has issued a safety alert because of the high fire hazard. Grass and other vegetation on base is being bird-cause- d cut to the required level in an effort to keep fires to a minimum. Lt. Col. Scott Curtis, chief of safety, said that base employees should evaluate outdoor activities and curtail or control those operations that may start a fire. Curtis said that hot mufflers, sparks from metal striking objects, electrical shorts and smoking should be kept in mind. strokes Aircraft damage extensive from Watch for child- hood depres-- : sion Page 7 flying fowl incidents: by Lisa Ryan Hilltop Times Spirit Award winners honored . Page 10 388th Fighter s? . staff That darling little songbird, that majestic,eag'le or that soaring sea gull can cause extensive aamage and . millions of dollars in repairs to U.S. military aircraft and in some cases, death topiiots and crew members. According to statistics from ihe June 1998 issue of ' Air Force magSjifllJ.Tjo-n- i JamiSry 1985 through:Feb ruary 1998, Air Force aircraft sustained34,856 bird strikes. The Air Force reports its aircraft average 2,600 bird strikes per year, at an average annual cost of Photos courtesy of the Kirtland AFB BASH Team and the Ogden ALC Safety Office. Radome photo - by Ron Cambarerl. , - $38 million. The most recent mishap involving birds was in 1995 AWACS crashed at Elmendorf AFB, when an dead geese Alaska, killing all aboard. Thirty-on- e and five live ones were later found on the runway. Five had been ingested into the aircraft's No. 1 and No. 2 - Wing-Fight- Country PageA-- D , E-3- B Although Hill AFB has never had a catastrophic acciand especially dent, birds present a problem to from the two fighter wings. Members of Hill's Bird Air Strike Hazard Program are in charge of making the areas around the runway unfavorable for birds. According to Bill Irons, Ogden ALC Flight Safety Office, there were 12 bird strikes at Hill last year. The number of strikes has steadily declined from 22 strikes in 1991. Currently, most problems occur with small birds. Some birds can get into the intake and down into the engines, causing major damage and putting the pilot's life in danger. "Small birds are our problem now. They travel all F-1- V" I ' - Archery Club active on base Page 15 over the airfield," Irons said. "Most roost outside the perimeter fence, but travel back and forth across the flightline." Several strikes have occurred thousands of feet in the air over the runway. "There's not anything that can be done about those," Irons said. "Neither can we extend our measures off base to places like the Weber River." Waterfowl from the Weber River are attracted to the grassy areas of the Hill's flightline and raptors such as falcons search for rodents hiding in those grassy areas. The BASH Program has been in existance since the first military aircraft left the ground and it is governed by an Air Force Instruction. "It is basically left up to the Bird Hazard Workings Group at Hill on how we try to deter birds," Irons said. "The Airfield Manager and others from the 75th Oper-- ; ations Support Squadron are normally the first ones to identify bird hazards on the flightline on a daily' .: Yankees player wins contest Page 17 ; : '. Visit our web site! httpwww.hill.af.mil OOR COPY j basis. the flyers, workers,; "But it's everyone's program everybody," Irons continued. For the pilots, there are low, moderate and high bird' conditions. These determinations are made from observations done on the flightline. When in low, flying pat-- ; See Birds, page 6 r. an 1 5E that was struck by a bird last year. The canopy was completely destroyed .A bird struck this 4 Phantom radome (left) several years ago and went through all five layers of material used to make the radome. It Is on display In Bldg. 238. (Below) Feathers are about all that remain of a seagull that was Ingested Into a 8 trainer aircraft. F-- F-- ir'. engines. I This canopy (above) came .' off of mmm 3 |