Yesterday, a Continental flight headed to Newark Liberty Airport had to make an emergency landing after taking off from Panama City's airport because of a bird strike. WCBS 2 reports, "According to airline officials, Flight 1022, a Boeing 737-900 with 176 on board, took off from Tocumen Airport at 10:05 a.m., but quickly ran into a trouble when the bird strike caused the left engine to catch fire." more ›

This morning, a Delta flight that took off from Laguardia Airport, headed toward Boston, was forced to land after a bird strike. NYC Aviation reports, "A Delta Air Lines Airbus A319 suffered an engine failure after hitting a bird over New York late Thursday morning. The flight made an emergency landing 20 minutes later without incident." more ›

Though all 193 passengers and 11 crew members on yesterday's Moscow-bound Delta flight 30 were unharmed after the plane was forced to dump fuel and land back at JFK because of a blown engine, most of them were pretty spooked about the incident. Irine Dokuchaeva of Moscow told the Post, "We felt [a bump], and the airplane stopped going up. It was flying straight. The captain said, ‘There is a problem, and we need to dump fuel. Don’t worry if you see fuel in the window'...Everybody stayed calm, but everybody wanted to drink something." Which would be the only way to stay calm if you saw your plane's fuel through the window. more ›

A Moscow-bound Delta flight had a scare this evening after a blown engine forced it to land back at JFK. Initial reports claimed that Delta Flight 30 had an engine fire, and some of the 193 people on board called 911 claiming to see flames or sparks. The plane circled around JFK dumping fuel; although the plane could fly with just one engine working, it was told to come back to the airport. Nobody was hurt, and now reports say that the blown engine may have been caused by a "bird strike," similar to what happened to U.S. Airways Flight 1549. more ›

Are Canada geese fighting back at the NY Post? The plucky tabloid reports that a flock of the birds struck a Boeing 777 that left Newark for Hong Kong on Wednesday: "The pilot told controllers the geese hit the left wing of the craft, which was fully loaded with fuel for the 16-hour flight." And among the 301 passengers—a Post reporter! more ›

The Post, which called war on Canada geese earlier this year after the bird strike that downed US Airways Flight 1549, adds to its list of bird vs. flying machine incidents, reporting that a bird dent the front of a Boeing MD-80 which was landing at Laguardia Airport yesterday. more ›

In June the Port Authority announced a plan to kill 2,000 geese during their molting season to prevent accidents like the one that brought Flight 1549 down in the Hudson River. Mayor Bloomberg immediately voiced his support for gassing geese, telling radio listeners, "There is not a lot of cost involved in rounding up a couple thousand geese and letting them go to sleep with nice dreams." Well, it looks like the mayor's winged targets finally sent a message on Saturday, when one flew into a jet carrying the mayor and about six others from the Hamptons to Senator Kennedy's funeral. In what is surely just the opening salvo between the avian empire and the imperial Bloomberg, the bird failed to fell the French-made Dassault 900EX, though the pilot was concerned that the strike had damaged the landing equipment, and requested emergency ground crews in Boston. The mayor was discreetly informed during the flight, which landed safely, but according to the Post he didn't inform his "entourage." Sure, Bloomberg's not sweating it, but if the rumored alliance between the birds and groundhogs ever happens, he's in trouble. more ›

There were no opportunities for aerial derring-do during yesterday's bird strike at LaGuardia airport, and no panic among the passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 1256, which hit a bird during its final approach at 10:54 a.m. The plane, en route from Miami, was at 900 feet when it hit the bird, and FAA spokesman Jim Peters tells Newsday, "The plane landed without incident, under power." Unlike the spectacular double-engine bird strike that brought down Flight 1549 in January, yesterday's bird was apparently not ingested by the engines. Passengers were unaware of the incident, and were told after the landing, when the plane had to be towed to the gate. According to the Daily News, there were 96 bird strikes at LaGuardia last year alone, and the tabloid gets some expert analysis from one Kalya Brizo, a 22-year-old "frustrated flier" from Bayside. Informed about the incident, she declares, "Again? I think the whole bird thing is a big problem. They really should do something about it." Beyond killing all birds on sight, anyone have any other suggestions? more ›

We're getting preliminary reports about an "aircraft emergency" this morning at LaGuardia airport, where an incoming American Airlines flight was hit by a bird strike when coming in for a landing. No injuries are being reported, but paramedics were called to meet the plane at gate 10, apparently as a precaution. The pilot also reported a "hydraulic leak in the nose gear." The incident comes as the city moves to euthanize 2,000 geese within 5 miles of airports during their molting season, in an effort to prevent another crash like the one that befell Flight 1549. more ›

Today, the Federal Aviation administration will release data on bird strikes, reversing its earlier position that it would keep the information secret. The demand for the bird strike data grew after US Airways Flight 1549 splash-landed into the Hudson earlier this year—birds had hit the plane's engines. The FAA claimed that the data might give people negative perceptions about certain airports or airlines, but lawmakers and the National Transportation Safety Board criticized the attempt at secrecy, pointing out indepedent researchers could help examine the data and provide comparisons. At any rate, bird strikes do happen and they are hard to prevent, though there are programs to limit the populations of birds (specifically Canada geese) at airports. The FAA's new bird strike data website will be here. more ›

In the wake of the the bird strike that caused Flight 1549's crash landing into the Hudson, the FAA now wants to keep its bird strike data private. The agency was about to turn over its database to the Associated Press, but then changed its mind, claiming the public might compare airports' or airlines' approaches to dealing with birds, "Inaccurate portrayals of airports and airlines could have a negative impact on their participation in reporting bird strikes." However, a former head of the NTSB said, "To have the government actually chill public access to safety information is a step backward. Public awareness is an essential part of any strong safety program," and Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) said, "Whether the public should worry is for the public to decide, not FAA." Wildlife biologist Steve Garber who worked on the database also told the Post that publicly available information is inadequate, "It's terrible... What I wanted was something where we could take all this data that was secret, and make it so people could analyze it and compare it." more ›

After the Smithsonian's analysis of feathers and organic material left in the engines of US Airways Flight 1549, the National Transportation Safety Board said a flock of Canada geese did hit the plane on January 15. With its engines compromised, the Airbus A320 was then forced to land in the Hudson River, with all passengers and crew surviving. However, the NY Times reports it's unclear whether the birds were migratory birds or more native ones from the NY area: "Those that migrate typically weigh from 6 pounds to nearly 11 pounds, the safety board said, but nonmigrating geese are fatter and 'can exceed published records.' Either kind is too much for the engines to handle, however." The NY Post, which basically called war on Canada geese, seems pleased with the identification. more ›

The NY Post, which proclaimed "PLUCK 'EM" to Canada geese after an apparent bird strike forced US Airways Flight 1549 to land in the Hudson River, is now angry at cab drivers for feeding birds at area airports. more ›

The National Transportation Safety Board has begun to inspect the left engine from US Airways Flight 1549, which landed in the Hudson River on January 15, after its engines failed. Investigator Robert Benzon said, "We'll see how it was affected by bird strike." The engine had been lodged in the Hudson and was found by sonar—the NY Times says readings found "cone-shaped object at the end of what looked like a long skid mark, roughly in line with 52nd Street." more ›

After more than a week in the Hudson, the left engine of US Airways Flight 1549 was lifted from the river. The AP reports, "Shards of metal and wiring are hanging out of it and a large portion of the outer shell is missing. It didn't appear to be leaking any oil or fuel, though a steady stream of water gushed from it as it was lifted up." It's believed the plane's engines failed after a bird strike—and, according to the Post, "Air Force brass yesterday offered to give New York one of its cutting-edge bird-detecting radar systems." DeTect Inc. says, "I'm convinced that if La Guardia Airport had one of these radar systems, it would have detected the geese and alerted the controllers and pilot in time to avoid the collision." The Air Force system would go to LGA, since JFK Airport is already getting ready to test one. more ›

According to CNN, passengers, apparently on the same plane as last Thursday's Flight 1549, "heard a series of loud bangs and the flight crew told them they could have to make an emergency landing." Last Thursday, US Airways Flight 1549 landed in the Hudson River after its engines failed, apparently after a bird strike.

Passenger Steve Jeffrey of Charlotte, North Carolina, told CNN he was flying in first class Tuesday when, about 20 minutes into the flight, "it sounded like the wing was just snapping off." more ›

The NY Post has found a villain in the Miracle on the Hudson story, and it's Canada geese! more ›