 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 6, 2009 SCHUMER: STARTLING NEW DATA ON BIRD STRIKES IN UPSTATE NEW YORK REQUIRES ACTION; SCHUMER INTRODUCES LEGISLATION TO MAKE BIRD STRIKE REPORTING MANDATORY - ONLY 20% OF STRIKES ARE CURRENTLY REPORTED
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer todayannounced that he willintroduce legislation requiring the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to make reporting bird strikes mandatory. This move comes in the wake of new data that reveals that only 20 percent of bird strikes in New York are reported. Airplane collisions with birds have more than doubled at 13 major U.S. airports since 2000, and there have been almost 3,000 reported bird strikes in New York State since 2000, and an estimated 12,000 strikes left unreported. Shockingly, the FAA’s bird strike reporting program is on a voluntary basis, and is not mandatory. FAA has a database of reported bird strikes that dates back to January of 1990, and the data was released in the shadow of US Airways Flight 1549 which made an emergency crash landing into the Hudson River after the plane’s engines came into contact with four birds. While the plane was destroyed, miraculously all 155 people on board that flight survived that day, but experts fear that next time passengers may not be so lucky. The Miracle on the Hudson landing has shed new light on the bird strike safety crisis that has grown significantly over the last decade. “The shocking bird strike data that has been released is a true wake up call for the FAA,” Schumer said. “It’s time for the FAA to do the right thing and inform the public about these serious safety issues. This data shows that bird strikes have long been a real concern in Upstate New York, with safety concerns being swept under the rug. My bill will go a long way in protecting the public from costly repairs and dangerous situations.” Two weeks ago, the FAA released bird strike data that painted a very frightening picture of aviation in New York and the United States. FAA initially refused to release the data, sparking an outrage from aviation and wildlife experts across the country. Senator Schumer wrote to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to implore him to release the database, and with its release it is now known that since 1990, the FAA has recorded nearly 90,000 wildlife strike incidents. Pilots have reported striking over 60,000 birds nationwide in the last nine years, resulting in 5 deaths and 93 injuries. The cost to repair the planes that suffered damaged was staggeringly estimated at over $267 million. Bird strikes at New York’s JFK International Airport ranked among the highest in the nation, with 1,200 collisions since 2000, 34 of which resulted serious damage to the airplanes. These statistics are troublesome for airline passengers across the state as each year 2.5 million Upstate New Yorkers travel through JFK, which serves as the major connection point for most flights from Upstate New York to domestic and international destinations. Schumer today released the FAA bird strike data for all of New York’s airports, including smaller municipal airports in Upstate New York. The following is a breakdown of the numbers at some of New York’s major airports. A complete accounting of bird strikes at all Upstate New York airports is included in the full report.
Unfortunately, wildlife experts are in agreement that the problem is bound to get worse because birds are increasingly living and finding food near cities and airports rather than migrating, which puts them directly in the path of airplanes. The FAA released the bird strike data in the wake of the January 15 splash landing of the US Airways flight in New York’s Hudson River. The pilot Chesley Sullenberger was able to save the lives of the 155 people on board, but the death-defying crash, resulting from a bird strike, should be a lesson for the FAA. “The Miracle on the Hudson landing has shed necessary light on a safety crisis that has grown significantly over the last decade,” Schumer said. “Bird strikes at New York airports and airports across the country have risen unabated by an FAA that repeatedly swept safety issues like this under the rug and are now unacceptably high. The time for the FAA to act is now.” Following last month’s direct appeal to LaHood to release the bird strike data, Senate Schumer today announced that he will introduce legislation that requires the FAA to make bird strike reporting mandatory. Schumer believes that increased reporting will ultimately lead to more accurate assessment of danger, more funds for airports to combat wildlife problems, and safer air travel for families in Upstate New York. Since 1997, the FAA has provided approximately $387 million in Airport Improvement Program funds to airports nationwide for projects involving the assessment, planning and mitigation of wildlife hazards. However, because bird strikes are underreported, the amount of money distributed is based solely on estimates. Mandatory reporting will provide more accurate data for the FAA to determine the necessary funding levels for airports.
### |
||
