pCaptain Chesley Sullenberger, who landed his US Airways flight on the Hudson River after birds were sucked into both engines in 2009, interviewed with CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley, and revealed alarming news that New York City plans to build garbage facilities next to city airports, a dangerous move that will guarantee birds being attracted to those areas. /p
pstrongCBS NEWS — Birds striking planes up five-fold since 1990;br /
Sullenberger calls experience key/strong/p
pstrongPelley:/strong Sully, why has the number of bird strikes increased so dramatically?/p
pstrongSullenberger:/strong Scott, the bird populations have increased and we’re flying more flights now that we’ve ever had before./p
pstrongPelley:/strong What could airports do about this?/p
pstrongSullenberger:/strong Effective land-use planning around local airports is the best to prevent birds from roosting near the airport. It’s important that we not build anywhere near an airport anything likely to attract birds, especially trash facilities./p
pstrongPelley:/strong You don’t want to build a garbage dump next to an airport, for example?/p
pstrongSullenberger:/strong Exactly. In fact, in New York City right now there are plans to do just that, and it’s a terrible idea to build something that is likely to attract birds. a href=”http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57421500/birds-striking-planes-up-five-fold-since-1990-sullenberger-calls-experience-key/”Video and full transcript/a /p
pstrongAfter birds strike 2 planes,br /
senator proposes allowing goose kills at NY wildlife refuge/strong /p
pBy Associated Press, Updated: Thursday, April 26, 3:11 AM /p
pa href=”http://landing.newsinc.com/shared/video.html?freewheel=90121sitesection=ap_topVID=23617302″SEE AP UPDATE April 27 VIDEO/a/p
pNEW YORK – The problem of birds living near some of the nation’s busiest airports is coming under renewed scrutiny after two emergency landings in a week and more than three years after the famous ditching of a jetliner in the Hudson River./p
pU.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Wednesday proposed making it easier to round up geese from a federal refuge near Kennedy Airport and kill them, an idea that’s meeting opposition from wildlife advocates./p
pA JetBlue plane bound for West Palm Beach, Fla., made an emergency landing at Westchester County Airport north of New York City on Tuesday. A Los Angeles-bound jet made an emergency landing at Kennedy Airport after a bird strike on the right engine a week ago./p
pNo one was hurt, but Grant Cardone, a sales training consultant who was on the flight out of Kennedy and was filming video from his window in seat 1D as the birds hit the plane, said it was scary./p
p”I felt like the plane was going to roll over on its right side,” Cardone said. “Those five or six seconds were terrifying.”/p
pCardone, 54, said he texted his wife that the flight was in trouble and added, “I love you and I love the kids.” Afterward, the pilot managed to stabilize the plane and land./p
pGillibrand’s bill would empower the U.S. Department of Agriculture to remove Canada geese from the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge during June and July when they are molting and can’t fly./p
p”We cannot and should not wait another day to act while public safety is at risk,” the New York Democrat said in a statement./p
pBut the idea of a goose roundup at a wildlife refuge that is part of the National Park Service has its detractors./p
blockquotep”It’s the only bird refuge that we have in New York City,” said Edita Birnkrant, New York director of Friends of Animals. “If they can’t be protected in a wildlife refuge, then where can they be protected?”/p/blockquote
pBirds can shatter windshields, dent fuselages and ruin engines. The issue is getting greater prominence than it has had since January 2009, when Capt. Chesley Sullenberger became a hero for successfully ditching US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River after a flock of geese hit it following takeoff from LaGuardia Airport./p
pGillibrand’s legislation targets Kennedy, where bird-management programs have been in place for more than 30 years. The bill would expedite the removal of birds from parts of the wildlife refuge that are within 5 miles of the airport. a href=”http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/after-birds-strike-2-planes-senator-proposes-allowing-goose-kills-at-ny-wildlife-refuge/2012/04/26/gIQALztOiT_story.html”Read more…/a/p
pstrongWhat You Can Do/strong/p
blockquotepPlease call NY Senator Kirsten Gillibrand’s Washington DC office and ask to speak to Legislative Assistant Jordan Baugh at 202.224.4451. State your strong opposition to Gillibrand’s proposed bill which would change current law and open up the federally protected Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge to the USDA’s Wildlife Service agents and allow them to capture and kill the Canada geese in the New York City refuge./p/blockquote
blockquotepWe cannot allow this destructive bill to pass and set a dangerous precedent that would declare open season on wildlife in refuges that exist to protect them. Air safety will be only improved by focusing on deterring geese and other birds from airports through habitat modification, effective land-use planning and radar detection, not by killing birds/p/blockquote