Bird-proof Engines Top Safety Panel’s Agenda

WASHINGTON - The ability of aircraft engines to withstand collisions with large birds and pilot training for dual engine failures are among the concerns of a federal safety panel examining the forced landing of an airliner into the Hudson River.

National Transportation Safety Board member Robert Sumwalt, who will chair the three-day hearing that begins Tuesday, said the accident has made safety officials, the aviation industry and the public more aware of the growing likelihood of bird-plane collisions.

"I flew airplanes for quite a while and I worried about a lot of things, but I never really worried about birds bringing my airplane down," Sumwalt, a former airline pilot, said in an interview. "Now this has caused a whole new focus on this."

In recent decades, many bird populations — including Canada geese — have rebounded thanks partly to environmental regulations. Air travel has also soared since deregulation in the late 1970s encouraged greater competition and lower fares.

With more planes and more birds in the sky, "we have a situation here — almost a numbers game — where eventually something is going to happen," said Michael Begier, national coordinator of the Agriculture Department's airport wildlife hazards program. "We're very fortunate that Flight 1549 was not a catastrophe. It is a warning shot."

The Federal Aviation Administration is testing bird-detecting radar that may help airports manage nearby bird populations. Some experts have also suggested aircraft engines should be designed to withstand bigger birds. Newer engines on commercial airliners have to withstand an 8-pound bird, but Canada geese can weigh twice that.