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TPA officials consider removing trees near airport
Ariel Plasencia reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - Tampa International Airport (TPA) officials discussed potentially removing trees and forested area near the airport’s runway because of wildlife strikes.
The discussion happened at the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA) board meeting on Thursday. According to the meeting’s agenda, the airport identified wooded areas along its western and northern boundaries that provide "shelter, roosting, nesting, and perch sites for high-risk species." Therefore, the plan proposes the removal of roughly 155 acres of this forested area "to improve safety."
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By the numbers:
According to data by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), TPA has seen well over 100 wildlife strikes each year recently: 141 in 2024; 166 in 2023; and 130 in 2022. Both FAA and TPA authorities told FOX 13 that the 2024 wildlife strike data is still being compiled, meaning the final number could end up being higher than 141.
In 2024, examples of wildlife involved in strikes at TPA include an armadillo, a coyote, and bats, but a majority of the cases involved birds, according to the FAA.
"Wildlife encounters were frequent and routine. What I have personally seen were maybe once a week," Darren Gaines, a retired TPA air traffic controller and current pilot, said. "When we’re seeing wildlife, we're mostly talking about birds, but it can come in other forms as well. We've had turtles on the runway, occasional alligator on the property. Deer is a problem. So they happen."
What's next:
This week’s discussion about the potential tree removal near TPA’s runway is only preliminary, the airport said. The board is expected to discuss this matter again in June.
"I think that's a responsible move. Now, I can't say that it's going to eliminate all the encounters, but it will certainly drive down the opportunity to have an encounter. And I think that's a responsible thing to do," Gaines said.
Dig deeper:
Jim Cardoso told FOX 13 he’s experienced several bird strikes as a retired U.S. Air Force pilot.
"Depending on the size of the bird, it can be from a, ‘oh, that was inconvenient’ to ‘OK, we need to check and see what our status of our aircraft is,’" Cardoso, who is also the senior director for the University of South Florida’s Global and National Security Institute, said.
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While this is a decent amount of forested area that could potentially come down, the airport said this is a project that’s about keeping passengers safe.
"Fully understand the other side. Nobody likes to cut down 155 acres worth of trees," Cardoso said. "These are the types of questions that an airfield manager has to balance out: What’s for the good of the airport? You will never eliminate all risk from animal strikes and bird strikes. It's impossible because animals and birds roam the earth. So, you look at ways that you can mitigate that."
"I certainly think it will help," Gaines said. "Again, if you can segregate the activity and the habitat of the wildlife – which would be the trees, relocate that somewhere else – I certainly think that will help."
The Source: The information in this story was gathered during the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority board meeting on Thursday as well as an interview with Jim Cardoso, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot.
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