Bird and other wildlife collisions with aircraft are an increasing safety and economic concern to civil and military aviation worldwide, costing well over $1 billion each year. Aircraft have been destroyed by wildlife strikes, the most notable of which was the Airbus 320 which landed in the Hudson River in January 2009 after hitting a flock of Canadian geese. And these strikes reporter to the Federal Aviation Administration have increased from about 1,800 in 1990 to over 9,100 in 2009.
Guests:
Sandy E. Wright, National Wildlife Strike Database Manager, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Richard Dolbeer, Science Advisor, U.S. Department of Agriculture