2 planes report bird strikes at JFK Int'l Airport

Two different planes landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport suffered bird strikes only two hours apart Wednesday morning. A JetBlue flight from Los Angeles reported hitting a bird at 8:30

News 12 Staff

Aug 26, 2016, 2:28 AM

Updated 2,966 days ago

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Two different planes landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport suffered bird strikes only two hours apart Wednesday morning.
A JetBlue flight from Los Angeles reported hitting a bird at 8:30 a.m. Then a Singapore Airlines jet arriving from Frankfurt reportedly hit a flock of birds around 10:30 a.m.
Both planes were able to land safely.
The airport has had bird strike problems for years due to its proximity to nesting wetlands.
Col. Michael Canders, an aviation expert and professor at Farmingdale State College, says pilots will tell air traffic control if they encounter birds anywhere near their aircraft as a way to inform fellow pilots of the danger.
"A lot of pilots had that experience where you have to make a quick sudden movement to avoid striking a bird, which could be disastrous," says Canders.
In 2009, multiple bird strikes forced US Airways Flight 1549, piloted by Cpt. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, to land in the Hudson River. No one on board was seriously injured.