Fake, or decoy, coyotes are used to scare birds off the runway at SFO. JetSuites Phenom, too! (Image: Chris McGinnis)
Last week when I was between the runways at SFO to watch and report on British Airways’s new A380 arrival, I spied upon several interesting things.
First off was this fake coyote located on a grass strip between the runways. It’s there to scare off birds and prevent bird strikes, which have been on the rise at Bay Area airports recently.
Have you ever seen this little fella? He (or she) is one of several located around the airfield.
Air traffic controllers who read TravelSkills report that pilots frequently spot the decoys, think they are the real thing, and then report them as runway hazards.
According to FAA data, there were 10,856 recorded birdstrikes nationwide in 2013. That’s almost double from 2003, just 10 years before (5,886 strikes), according to a report on NBC Bay Area news.
Then there was this big bird that buzzed over my shoulder! (See video)
Then there was this unusual sighting:
Qatar Airways A340 at SFO- a rate bird indeed (Chris McGinnis)
Qatar Airways does not offer commercial flights to SFO, yet here was a big Airbus A340 parked over by the United hangar. While I have not been able to confirm this, rumor has it that a member of the Qatari royal family comes to San Francisco for periodic treatment at a local hospital. So the plane comes, and waits, for the royal to receive treatment, then flies home. An A340 typically holds about 300 passengers. But not this one! I wonder if any TravelSkills readers have the scoop on this plane?
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