The Online Form

Incident Date and Time -- The date and time that you are going to enter is when you found the remains on the runway, which more than likely will not be the time when the bird or mammal was actually struck, but that's okay. 

• Click on the calendar icon for a drop-down calendar and pick the date.

• Time -- as this is aviation, time is to be entered in a 24-hour format utilizing local time, not Zulu (UTC).

• Time of day -- you only get four options: Dawn, Day, Dusk, and Night.

Airport Information -- Pretty simple stuff, and as you're a person at an airport you're not going to concern yourself "en route" or "distance from" because everything you're going to report for your airport is on either a runway or a taxiway at your airport!

• Either entry field works when inputting your airport's name

  • For the "Airport Name" field you can start typing your airport's name, the three-letter or four-letter (ICAO) codes, and your airport name should start to populate the drop-down. 

  • For the "Airport ID" field, you can type in either the three-letter or four-letter (ICAO) code, but just know that the field will ultimately populate with the ICAO, four-letter code.

  • Once enter for either field the system will populate the complete information in both. (i.e. typing in "DCA" populates "Airport ID" with "KDCA" and simultaneously populates "Airport Name" with "RONALD REAGAN WASHINGTON NATIONAL ARPT - DC")

• For the Runway or Taxiway Used, you are going to enter where you recover the remains from:

  • Taxiways -- just put down the letter of the taxiway, simple as that.

  • Runways -- just put down the number (and letter if needed -- L, C, or R)

    • Note, try to avoid putting the "/reciprocal", in other words try and be specific; if you know operations have been on Runway 07 for the last eight days then don't put "7/25", put "7".

Operator/Aircraft Information -- Be as detailed as you can with the information you have available. This is where resources like the FAA's registry search, FlightAware, flightradar24, and ADS-B Exchange come in handy. In particular, having the N-number will give you the exact "Aircraft Make/Model" and the "Engine Make/Model" from off of the FAA registry search. 

• "Operator Name" field -- if it was airline that had the strike then just start to type the name and it should begin to populate the drop-down; if it's a corporate owned, charter, or private operator then just type in the name and leave it at that. 

• "Operator ID" field -- more so for airlines; enter in the three-letter airline code and it will auto populate both fields. (i.e. typing in "UAL" into the "Operator ID" field populates the "Operator Name" field with "UNITED AIRLINES")

• "Aircraft Registration" -- if the aircraft is registered in the U.S. then it will have and N-number (i.e. N123YZ, be sure to enter the whole thing and not just "123YZ"), otherwise enter the appropriate foreign registration.

• "Flight Number" applies airlines (i.e. Southwest Airlines Flight 211, simply enter "211" into this field as you have already entered "SWA" into the "Operator ID" field or you entered "SOUTHWEST AIRLINES" into the "Operator Name" field -- either way, both fields will populate the applicable information) 

• "Aircraft Make/Model" and "Engine Make/Model" -- as mentioned above, this information can be obtained from the FAA registration database, so if you're talking to aircrew at the aircraft there's no need to pester them with these details when you can get this from the FAA.

• The "Phase of Flight" field consists of a drop-down with the following options: Parked (don't ask, I don't know why it's on there either), Taxi, Take-off Run, Climb, En Route, Descent, Approach, and Landing Roll. If you don't have aircrew to ask, then use your best guess (i.e. if the remains have been found at the last few thousand feet of Runway 07 then it's more than likely "climb" for the phase of flight).

• "Height (feet) (AGL - Above Ground Level)" and "Speed (knots) (IAS - Indicated Air Speed)" -- you're only going to get this from the aircrew, so if you don't have it then don't indicate anything.

Environment Conditions -- This is pretty cut and dry. 

• For "Sky Condition" the drop-down only has three options:  "No Cloud", "Some Cloud" , and "Overcast"

Damage/Cost Information -- Isn't something you're going to be filling out when you initially file your report, this would be done as a revision later if there were data to be put in. Hover over the "help" question marks for further guidance. 

Impact And Damage Information -- This is another area that you can only fill out what you know, which is going to be dependent upon whether or not there's an aircraft in front of you to examine and aircrew and/or mechanics to talk to. You won't know if it's damaged until you see it or you're told by someone. You might be able to discern if the remains (more like just feathers) have been ingested if they look "oily" and "chewed up" otherwise here too, you won't know until you see it or someone tells you -- or the report is revised to indicate as such.

Note: For multiple strikes you can check as many boxes as are applicable.

"Other" -- be sure to not only check if it was "Struck" , "Damaged" , and/or "Ingested" but also specify in the comment box below as to what it was (i.e. the RAT - Ram Air Turbine was struck and damaged). 

"Effect on Flight" -- If the strike is originating from your airport than you probably know whether the aircraft "Aborted Take-Off" or made a "Precautionary Landing", but unless you're talking to a crew you might not know if they had to shutdown an engine. And again, multiple boxes may be checked.

Wildlife Information -- This is where details count, not that they don't else where, but the specifics of what species are being struck coupled with time of day and location are the key components to understanding the bigger picture and eventually implementing management techniques. 

• "Bird/Wildlife Remains"

  • "Collected" if you collected either snarge or remains from either an aircraft or off of the runway, then you "collected"

  • "Sent to Smithsonian" now if collected a sample and sending it in for analysis, then also mark "sent to Smithsonian" as well.

• "Pilot Warned of Bird/Wildlife" -- Yes or No, this one is sometimes overlooked or marked wrong. 

  • If your airport mentions wildlife hazards on the ATIS or if it is in the chart supplement, then the answer is "Yes".

    • "BIRDS ON & INV OF ARPT" - Birds on and in the vicinity of airport, yup, advised.

• "Bird Band Number" -- most of the time bands, either metal or plastic, will be found on the legs of birds, but sometimes they're around the neck or on the wing. About Federal Bird Bands About Auxiliary Markers 

  • Besides logging this information on the strike report you may also enter it here: Banded Bird Encounter Report (USGS) (completely optional)

• "Bird/Other Wildlife Species" -- when it comes identifying species, only one of three conditions exist:

1. Your identification skills are solid and there is enough of the bird to easily and accurately identify it -- slam dunk, ID'ed, done!

2. Your skills maybe solid, but either this a new species you are not familiar with, or there's not enough of the bird remaining to make conclusive ID -- grab feathers and send them in!

3. You just don't know, and that's perfectly fine -- pull a variety of feathers from the bird and send the sample in. 

• "Remarks" -- in 4,000 characters or less, describe damage, injuries, and other pertinent information such as fuel jettisons

  • Help: "Any information that helps determine exent of damage is needed hee. When there is damage, we need to know if it was Minor or Substantial. Also any remarks that you feel are interesting or important are welcome. If the bird or animal was found on the runway or within 250' of the centerline, please include time it was found and where. Condition of bird/wildlife helps too (Example: was it old or freshly killed.)

• "Number of Wildlife Seen" -- the website encourages estimating and I get it, however I usually leave this blank unless I have those details from aircrew

• "Number of Wildlife Struck"

• "Size of Bird(s)" -- as a guide (example: sparrow = small, gull = medium, vulture = large per the website)