April 20, 2009

Portland’s wonderful airport is one of those who want to keep secret the reports on how often bird strikes occur around American airports, and where they occur.

UPDATE, 11:30 p.m.: I have tracked down the Port of Portland’s comments, here. Here’s the most interesting part:

Many states have public records laws similar to the Freedom of Information Act. Oregon’s Public Records Law creates a strong presumption in favor of disclosure for all public records, with very few exceptions. One exception covers information voluntarily submitted to a public body (such as a municipal airport) in confidence, under circumstances where the public body has agreed to keep the information confidential and the public interest would suffer by its disclosure. ORS 192.502(4). This exemption probably already applies to bird strike data, but if the Port were to be challenged in court, the proposed FAA order would significantly improve our ability to explain how the public interest would be hurt by disclosure. The proposed order would also make available another important exemption, one which applies in the case of records “the disclosure of which is prohibited by federal law or regulations.”

While the Port is proud of Oregons’ Public Records Law and supports the public’s right to view government documents and information, there are instances in which the public interest is not well served by unlimited disclosure. This is clearly the case with bird strike data collected under the current voluntary system. We strongly support the FAA’s proposal to adopt an order designating this information as protected from disclosure.

Sounds like a dare.