Canada Geese And The Crash Landing of Flight 1549
by Kirk La Pierre of Saver Wildlife Services and National Goose Management.

www.saver-ngm.com

Questions and Answers with Kirk La Pierre of Saver Wildlife Services and National Goose Management.

Kirk La Pierre is a Nationally Certified Wildlife Control Professional (CWCP) and a national instructor of Canada goose management methods and programs.

Q) Kirk, Were you surprised to learn that it was Canada geese that were confirmed to cause the downing of flight 1549 into the Hudson river.

A) No, in fact, the very second I heard reports that it was birds that may have caused the crash I suspected it was Canada geese.

These birds are not like starlings or other small species. Hitting a goose with an airplane is like colliding with a cannon ball. It truly was a miracle that this plane made it safely to the river.

Q) Have there ever been other aircraft crashes due to Canada Geese ?

A) Yes, it’s happened before, collision incidents with geese have been steadily increasing. Most collisions have resulted in major damages to aircraft and forced landings. There have been crashes as well such as in 1995 when 24 US airmen will killed after their E-3 AWACS collided with a flock of geese during takeoff at Elmendorf AFB in Alaska. In the same year, the Concord hit a single goose at JFK during landing and sustained over 9 million dollars in damage. Luckily the aircraft was able to land without crashing. There are many more examples in recent history.

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