The public is getting its first uncensored look at FAA records of where and when airplanes have struck birds over the past 19 years, thanks largely to pressure resulting from the dramatic ditching of a US Airways jet in the Hudson River after bird strikes knocked out both its engines, said an April 24 Associated Press story.
AP reporter Michael Sniffen wrote that the FAA has always feared the public can’t handle the full truth about bird strikes, so it has withheld the names of specific airports and airlines involved. The agency had said that the public might use the data to “cast unfounded aspersions” on airports reporting strikes which, judging from other on-line reports and the AP’s own, is exactly what is happening.
To read the full story: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5itzk6YVnBDZLTUTd5d_R_ct_LOLAD97OMM6G0
