(AP)A Northwest 757 jet hit a flock of pigeons as it took off from the Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport for Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon, but returned safely.
The plane ran into about 16 pigeons about 2:40 p.m., said Melissa Scovronski, spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Airports Commission. She couldn’t confirm reports that some of the birds got stuck in an engine. She said the plane took off over Richfield from the south side of the Lindbergh Terminal.
No one was hurt on Northwest Flight 195, which carried 202 passengers and seven crew members, said Northwest spokeswoman Ashley Black. She said passengers were soon put on another plane to Las Vegas.
Mechanics were inspecting the aircraft. The FAA said it will investigate the incident.
on an aircraft carrier there is a sailor whos job is to iron the captains clothes and polish his shoes. it pays the same as the guy that operates the nuclear reactor, but guess who gets all the perks?
No Will, they don’t. They rarely shoot encroaching birds, even back in the days of SAC when any means were used to keep the alert BUFFs and gas-passers in the air, they were far more likely to use non-lethal means of control such as gas cannons, trained dogs, etc.
We were more fortunate at the airfield in DE back in the days before EU and before the Green Party gained legitimacy. We had professional falconers who visited the field regularly to put the fear of talons in the tiny bird brains of any potential visitors, but more importantly the falcons literally cleaned all the pigeons and sparrows from the hangars.
I know that at nasa’s shuttle landing facility in florida, there are resident alligators who like to warm themselves on the runway, and they have to clear it before anything comes in to land.
Given the choice between ingesting a bird on takeoff and running over an alligator on landing, which would you choose?