Bird Strikes

Under public pressure after geese knocked out both engines of a US Airways jet that was forced to land in the Hudson River on Jan. 15, the federal government yesterday opened its records on more than 100,000 reports of birds colliding with aircraft. The records show that airplanes struck birds 16 to 74 times a year after takeoff, en route, or upon landing at Philadelphia International Airport between 1990 and 2008. The good news: None of the incidents resulted in a destroyed aircraft or human fatality, according to the Federal Aviation Administration data.

The emergency landing of an airliner in the Hudson River last winter after a collision with geese seemed like a freakishly rare mishap. But data released by the Federal Aviation Administration show bird strikes are a significant problem for the airline industry. In the last eight years, there have been more than 73,000 bird strikes in the United States. Those numbers have increased annually since the early 1990s, although it's not known if that's due to more birds near airports or increased reporting of collisions.

The world was alerted to the dangers that birds pose to aircraft when geese crippled both engines of a US Airways jet that made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in January. But wildlife experts have known for years about the rising hazard of bird strikes and have worked to minimize risks. Airports, with open fields and grass, are particularly vulnerable to birds. Many of the nation's busiest airports are next to rivers, bays, oceans, marshes, swamps, or wildlife sanctuaries that attract birds.

In the months after geese knocked out both engines of a US Airways jet over New York's Hudson River last Jan. 15, reports of airplanes striking birds have surged. The federal government estimates about 10,000 reported bird strikes in 2009 - a 32 percent increase over the 7,600 reported strikes in 2008. "We had a dramatic increase in the reporting of strikes in 2009," Richard Dolbeer, wildlife expert for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said yesterday. "We've never seen this before," he said.

The hulking C-5 cargo planes come and go every few hours here, feeding the war on terrorism. Lumbering skyward, the beefy gray jets depart from Dover Air Force Base with troops, tanks, helicopters and humanitarian cargo, destined for the war's frontlines in Central Asia. Dover's C-5s, whose total value is $7 billion, are a key cog in the war effort. But now the base, 60 miles south of Philadelphia, says it faces a new foe: birds. Dover, which says it ships more military cargo than any other U.S. air base, is appealing to the state of Delaware to block the expansion of a garbage transfer station next to the base's runway, saying it would attract large birds such as vultures and geese that can fly into C-5s.

WAS IT REALLY a miracle when Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson, with no fatalities and only minor injuries? I don't wish to be disrespectful toward people of faith, but if a deity were really in charge, why would he allow bird strikes to knock out both of the plane's engines in the first place? Fact is, we live in a world where bad things can happen. But humankind understands this. So, instead of depending on a deity who, if he/she/it exits at all is mercurial at best, we have to be prepared.

At 5:30 a.m., the rain was letting up, but it was still dark as the two men began their rounds of Center City's skyscrapers. They started with a particular alcove, bordered on three sides by glass. Pretty. But not for birds. "They get trapped into this angle," said Stephen Maciejewski, scanning the sidewalk for victims. Confused by all the reflections, "they don't know to turn around. " So they fly into the glass, and they die. As they walked from building to building, he and Keith Russell, Audubon Pennsylvania's science and outreach coordinator in Philadelphia, checked spots where they usually find birds - along sidewalks, behind signs, in stairwells, under cars, atop ledges.

As the sun rose over Atlantic City International Airport on a recent summer day, a white pickup truck rolled onto the runway. Inside the truck, two agents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Animal Damage Control unit prepared to begin their mission: disperse flocks of laughing gulls, by any means. The pickup moved slowly, from one runway to the next, occasionally looping around a taxiway. At the first sighting of a flock of gulls, one agent slipped into the cassette deck a tape recording of laughing gulls in distress.

The Navy's youngest recruit is working like a dog to keep the skies safe for the big airplanes at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base. Three-year-old Jackie is a goose control specialist, first class. She's a black-and-white border collie whose job is to keep Canada geese and other birds away from the base's runways and taxiways. Canada geese can weigh up to 12 pounds. They can seriously damage multimillion-dollar airplanes. They can cause them to crash.

The sea gull strolling the Boardwalk looked like a bird with a bad case of sunburn. Its normally white belly was a bright pink. The pink belly came from a dye called rhodamine. The gull picked up the dye when it incubated one of 2,100 rhodamine-covered eggs at the Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Galloway Township, 10 miles from the Boardwalk. The gull is part of an experiment by Rutgers University and the Federal Aviation Administration designed to find ways to minimize the potentially deadly hazard of birds crashing into aircraft or getting sucked into their engines.

At 5:30 a.m., the rain was letting up, but it was still dark as the two men began their rounds of Center City's skyscrapers. They started with a particular alcove, bordered on three sides by glass. Pretty. But not for birds. "They get trapped into this angle," said Stephen Maciejewski, scanning the sidewalk for victims. Confused by all the reflections, "they don't know to turn around. " So they fly into the glass, and they die. As they walked from building to building, he and Keith Russell, Audubon Pennsylvania's science and outreach coordinator in Philadelphia, checked spots where they usually find birds - along sidewalks, behind signs, in stairwells, under cars, atop ledges.

In the months after geese knocked out both engines of a US Airways jet over New York's Hudson River last Jan. 15, reports of airplanes striking birds have surged. The federal government estimates about 10,000 reported bird strikes in 2009 - a 32 percent increase over the 7,600 reported strikes in 2008. "We had a dramatic increase in the reporting of strikes in 2009," Richard Dolbeer, wildlife expert for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said yesterday. "We've never seen this before," he said.

The emergency landing of an airliner in the Hudson River last winter after a collision with geese seemed like a freakishly rare mishap. But data released by the Federal Aviation Administration show bird strikes are a significant problem for the airline industry. In the last eight years, there have been more than 73,000 bird strikes in the United States. Those numbers have increased annually since the early 1990s, although it's not known if that's due to more birds near airports or increased reporting of collisions.

Under public pressure after geese knocked out both engines of a US Airways jet that was forced to land in the Hudson River on Jan. 15, the federal government yesterday opened its records on more than 100,000 reports of birds colliding with aircraft. The records show that airplanes struck birds 16 to 74 times a year after takeoff, en route, or upon landing at Philadelphia International Airport between 1990 and 2008. The good news: None of the incidents resulted in a destroyed aircraft or human fatality, according to the Federal Aviation Administration data.

The world was alerted to the dangers that birds pose to aircraft when geese crippled both engines of a US Airways jet that made an emergency landing on the Hudson River in January. But wildlife experts have known for years about the rising hazard of bird strikes and have worked to minimize risks. Airports, with open fields and grass, are particularly vulnerable to birds. Many of the nation's busiest airports are next to rivers, bays, oceans, marshes, swamps, or wildlife sanctuaries that attract birds.

WAS IT REALLY a miracle when Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson, with no fatalities and only minor injuries? I don't wish to be disrespectful toward people of faith, but if a deity were really in charge, why would he allow bird strikes to knock out both of the plane's engines in the first place? Fact is, we live in a world where bad things can happen. But humankind understands this. So, instead of depending on a deity who, if he/she/it exits at all is mercurial at best, we have to be prepared.

The hulking C-5 cargo planes come and go every few hours here, feeding the war on terrorism. Lumbering skyward, the beefy gray jets depart from Dover Air Force Base with troops, tanks, helicopters and humanitarian cargo, destined for the war's frontlines in Central Asia. Dover's C-5s, whose total value is $7 billion, are a key cog in the war effort. But now the base, 60 miles south of Philadelphia, says it faces a new foe: birds. Dover, which says it ships more military cargo than any other U.S. air base, is appealing to the state of Delaware to block the expansion of a garbage transfer station next to the base's runway, saying it would attract large birds such as vultures and geese that can fly into C-5s.

As soon as she was unleashed, Olympia, one of the base's new peregrine falcons, arced into the morning drizzle, casting a dark silhouette against the overcast sky - a sight that instantly sent birds within eyeshot shrieking to flight. Before she had a chance to hunt, a piercing whistle called her back to earth, where feathery morsels of quail were waiting in her trainer's gloved hand. Olympia devoured the meat, easily ripping apart and swallowing the bones as well. The meal was reward for her work - keeping birds out of the air paths used by planes.

The Navy's youngest recruit is working like a dog to keep the skies safe for the big airplanes at the Willow Grove Naval Air Station/Joint Reserve Base. Three-year-old Jackie is a goose control specialist, first class. She's a black-and-white border collie whose job is to keep Canada geese and other birds away from the base's runways and taxiways. Canada geese can weigh up to 12 pounds. They can seriously damage multimillion-dollar airplanes. They can cause them to crash.

For three years, Fred, a sulphur-crested cockatoo, served as mascot of the Media Pet Center, developing an adoring public and every now and then letting someone with a familiar face hold him. But if someone off the street came in and tried to get too cozy with the $2,000 cockatoo, Fred would let out a screech or take a peck at the intruder's finger, said store owner Greg Van Impe. That's why Van Impe is hard-pressed to explain how two men slipped into his store Thursday and made off with the 15-year-old bird.