Soaring Deer Populations Pose Challenge for Airports, Pilots
WASHINGTON (AP) — Aviation and wildlife experts say soaring deer populations are nuisances for airports and threats to pilots, especially at this time of year.
Whether driven by hunger or just crazy for love, deer will do seemingly anything to get onto airport grounds and runways, including leaping over tall fences or squeezing under them. But put a deer and a plane together on a runway and both can have a very bad day.
A recent government report says that from 1990 to 2013, there were 1,088 collisions between planes and deer, elk, moose and caribou. Most of the planes suffered damage, and some were destroyed. One person was killed and 29 others injured. About a third of the collisions took place during the October-November mating season.
(Story by: Joan Lowy, The Associated Press)
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