Landing in Alaska? Fear moose collisions no more

Happy news from Reuters:

Pilots flying into and out of a small airport north of Anchorage,
Alaska, no longer have to keep an eye out for stray moose on the
runway.

The municipal airport at Wasilla, a town about 40 miles north of
Anchorage, has installed an electric anti-moose mat around the
airfield.

The barrier, similar to grated cattle guards on ranches, aims to
prevent collisions between aircraft and the area's large moose
population.

"They'd feel a shock and they'd also hear a snap. Those two things
would cause the moose to not go in there," said Archie Giddings, public
works director for Wasilla.

Airfield workers regularly had to chase the large ungulates away and
moose have proved adept at getting through the gates of the airport's
conventional fence, Giddings said.

A bull moose can weigh 1,000 pounds and stand 6 feet high.

"If they ever did come to the runway and have a collision with an
aircraft, that could be disastrous to the pilot," Giddings said. "An
airplane could disintegrate if it hits a moose."