How Birds Can Down a Jet Airplane

How Birds Can Down a Jet Airplane

away from an Airbus 320 US Airways aircraft that has gone down …

* US Airways plane crashes into Hudson River Slideshow: US Airways plane crashes into Hudson River
* Flight 1549 Apparently Crippled By Bird Strikes Play Video Video: Flight 1549 Apparently Crippled By Bird Strikes CBS 2 New York
* Disabled jet ditches into NYC river; all rescued Play Video Video: Disabled jet ditches into NYC river; all rescued AP

Early reports suggest that a bird strike caused a jet plane to crash in the Hudson River near Manhattan today, leaving questions about how a little flying animal could down a big airliner.

More than 200 people have been killed worldwide as a result of wildlife strikes with aircraft since 1988, according to Bird Strike Committee USA, and more than 5,000 bird strikes were reported by the U.S. Air Force in 2007. Bird strikes, or the collision of an aircraft with an airborne bird, tend to happen when aircraft are close to the ground, which means just before landing or after take-off, when jet engines are turning at top speeds.

The incidents are serious particularly when the birds, usually gulls, raptors and geese, are sucked into a jet engine and strike an engine fan blade. That impact displaces the blade such that it strikes another blade and a cascade can occur, resulting in engine failure.

A 12-pound Canada goose striking an aircraft going 150 mph at lift-off generates the force of a 1,000-pound weight dropped from a height of 10 feet, according to Bird Strike Committee USA.

Today's incident, which occurred just after US Airways flight 1549 (an Airbus 320) had taken off with more than 150 passengers and crew
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