A new year brings new wishes for aviation safety. Or, in some cases, a renewal of old wishes from years past. It’s no small feat to strive to constantly improve an already enviable aviation safety record. But strive we must if we are to eliminate potential safety problems that in the right combination could bring down an aircraft or otherwise come together to cause injury or loss of life. While eliminating all accidents may well be impossible, the goal of zero accidents remains a goal worth pursuing.
Bird Strikes
The media splash surrounding the miracle on the Hudson unfortunately did not translate into affirmative steps to tackle the problem of bird strikes. Other than some local efforts by the Port Authority of NY & NJ to kill Canada goose feeding grounds in parks around their airports, the FAA and NTSB response to the near-catastrophe has been muted. Wildlife control is important, albeit not enough. It is a piece of the solution. And while a number of other airports have taken wildlife control seriously, there has been no effective national effort at airports across the country. If the FAA is unwilling to mount a national campaign, it would seem the NTSB could use its bully pulpit to support this effort.
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