Senator Chuck Schumer on Bird Strike Reporting

Schumer To Make New Push To Pass Legislation Making Bird Strike Reporting Mandatory - Only 20% Of Strikes Are Currently Reported

June 9, 2009 -- Today, United States Senator Charles E. Schumer announced he will make a renewed push to pass his legislation, The Wildlife Strike Act, S. 1162, requiring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make bird strike data mandatory in the wake of a new report that reveals that only 20% of bird strikes in New York are reported. Schumer will push to have his legislation included as part of the FAA Reauthorization Bill which has already passed the House and is now moving through the Senate.

Airplane collisions with birds have more than doubled at 13 major U.S. airports since 2000 with New York's own John F. Kennedy International Airport is leading the pack with the most reported incidents with serious damage, according to FAA data released for the first time last Friday. The data was released in the shadow of the January 15 US Airways flight flown by the heroic Chesley Sullenberger that splash landed in the Hudson River. The death defying landing was directly caused by birds coming into contact with the plane’s engines. While the plane was destroyed, miraculously all 155 people on board that flight survived that day, but experts fear that next time passengers may not be so lucky. The Miracle on the Hudson landing has shed new light the bird strike safety crisis that has grown significantly over the last decade and Schumer sees this as the perfect opportunity to change FAA regulations.

“The entire world now knows the potential danger of bird strikes, but what we don’t know is how often they occur,” Schumer said. “It’s time for the FAA to do the right thing and inform the public about these serious safety issues. This data shows that bird strikes in New York and across the country have been on the rise for years, with safety issues constantly being swept under the rug. My bill will go a long way in protecting the public from costly repairs and dangerous situations.”

Last month, the FAA released bird strike data that painted a very frightening picture of aviation in New York and the United States. The FAA reported that airplane collisions with birds have more than doubled at 13 U.S. airports since 2000. New York City’s own JFK reported the most incidents, with 34 collisions resulting serious damage to airplanes. Since 1990, the FAA has recorded nearly 90,000 wildlife strike incidents and since 2000 alone, pilots have reported striking over 60,000 birds nationwide, resulting in 5 deaths and 93 injuries. The cost to repair the planes that suffered damaged was estimated at more than $267 million, a staggering sum for a problem that could be under control.

Unfortunately, wildlife experts are in agreement that the problem is bound to get worse because birds are finding food to live near cities and airports rather than migrating, which puts them directly in the path of airplanes. JFK, which is the nation’s 6th busiest airport, has had an especially difficult time with wildlife due to its location near wetlands that are a breeding ground for birds, such as geese. This is why the airport is number one on the list of airports where planes were either substantially damaged or destroyed by birds since 2000.

The FAA released the bird strike data in the wake of the January 15 splash landing of the US Airways flight in New York’s Hudson River. While the pilot, Chesley Sullenberger was able to save the lives of the 155 people on board, the death-defying crash was a result of birds coming into contact with the plane’s engines. Schumer believes the Miracle on the Hudson should be a lesson for the FAA.

“The Miracle on the Hudson landing has shed necessary light on a safety crisis that has grown significantly over the last decade,” Schumer said. “Bird strikes at New York airports and airports across the country have risen unabated by an FAA that repeatedly swept safety issues like this under the rug and are now unacceptably high. The time for the FAA to act is now.”

Schumer’s legislation would require that the FAA’s voluntary program for reporting aircraft collisions with or more birds or other wildlife be mandatory.

Source: Senator Charles E. Schumer