July 28, 2009

The US National Transportation Safety Board has warned of a greater risk to aircraft from bird strikes.

The board has voted to recommend to the Federal Aviation Administration a revision in standards that require all aircraft to be able to withstand a collision with large birds of up to 8-pounds in weight.

The board said in a report that environmental protections had allowed the populations of most large bird species in North American to increase greatly, with air traffic also expanding to surpass 1 billion takeoffs by 2020.

The board said a collision with a flock of white pelicans in Oklahoma last year had caused the crash of a business jet, leading to the deaths of five men.

In that incident, the bird strike severely damaged a wing of the Cessna Citation 500 and knocked out power in one engine.

The wing damage was ultimately blamed for the crash.

The question of bird-aircraft collisions became even more urgent when US Airways Flight 1549 ditched into the Hudson River this year after it struck a flock of Canada geese following takeoff.

All 155 people aboard survived.