Word: flocks
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...throw from Manhattan in the Hudson River, the speedy response of nearby ferries and tour boats, the fact that no passengers were seriously hurt. But among the surprises was that the incident appeared to be caused not by a terrorist attack or mechanical failure, but by a wayward flock of geese. (See pictures of the plane crash in the Hudson River.) While the National Transportation Safety Board has yet to conduct a full investigation, authorities believe that the geese were sucked into the plane's two jet engines, causing immediate engine failure shortly after takeoff from New York City...
...Most commercial airlines are now replacing older three- and four-engine planes with more-efficient double-engine aircraft. Because these newer engines are quieter, birds are less likely to detect and avoid them. Worse still, fewer engines mean fewer backups should a plane and a flock of birds cross paths...
...just a civilian concern, either. In 1995, the U.S. military began re-evaluating its Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) program after a $270 million U.S. Air Force E-3 Sentry struck a flock of 31 Canada geese during takeoff, causing a fiery crash that killed 24 service members. Solutions to the problem currently in use include habitat modification (planting specific types of grass that are distasteful to birds), aversion tactics (using dispersal teams, a.k.a. "goose guys," to scare them away) and lethal control (killing a specific number to reduce populations...
...ferries. Numerous emergency vehicles could be seen on the New Jersey shore, responding to the incident. By 4 p.m., the plane had sunk into the frigid waters. MSNBC reported that the pilot had radioed air-traffic controllers shortly after takeoff to say that the plane had collided with a flock of geese. Losing altitude, the pilot reportedly opted for a water landing. A survivor told reporters that he was sitting next to the wing when the engine exploded and the pilot announced, "Brace yourself. We're going down...
...rare occasion do you have them causing a crash." He explains that an Airbus A320, the type of plane involved in the crash, has an engine designed to sustain damage from up to a 4-lb. bird. "The real hazard is if you have simultaneous damage with a flock of birds. I don't know what happened in this case, but multiple engine failure due to bird strikes can bring an aircraft down," he says...