Usairways A/c Skids Off Rwy In Pit

[ClueByFour]

According to coworkers of mine, it's been pouring on and off in PIT sporadically for 2 or 3 days.

 

[WorldTraveler]

While I don't minimize the chance that fatigue can have on human performance in the airline industry, health care professionals working 24 hour shifts can do tremendous damage. There is no autopilot in the emergency or operating rooms and there are very few alarms that tell you when you very off the assigned course. And we certainly can't minimize the impact on our armed forces who are working in very hostile environments, often with little physical rest and even less emotional rest.
Again, I'm not minimizing the fatigue that aviation professionals face but let's not develop a "woe is me" mindset by failing to recognize what other professionals face.

 

[mweiss]

According to coworkers of mine, it's been pouring on and off in PIT sporadically for 2 or 3 days.

Your coworkers are correct. More off than on, but when it's been on, it's really been on.

 

[More Facts and Less Emotion]

So do we know if it was an owl or a turkey?

The owl could be in mid air, but the turkey would have been on the ground.

Either way, looks like the bird lost the battle.

 

[Prince of PAWOBs]

Food for thought:

Last month, a police officer in Western Pennsylvania had a head-on collision with a low flying turkey that totalled the police cruiser and sent the officer to the hospital for a few days. Turns out the the officer was driving at (heh!) 55 mph, and it was estimated that the turkey flew directly at the car's windshield at approximately the same speed. If you are familiar with Newton's Laws and the incredible stupidity of wild turkeys, you can see why they can be such a menace.

Personally, I have never seen an owl anywhere near PIT, but turkeys abound, especially in the late fall in Findlay Township. Couple that with numerous groundhogs that like to sun themselves out on TWY Y, and you have a zoological nightmare just waiting to happen. Of course, the groundhogs tend to move away from approaching aircraft. 😛

 

[767jetz]

While we’re all playing Monday morning quarterback, let’s keep in mind that this was a successful outcome, as no one was injured. We don’t know the specifics and probably won’t for some time. For all we know this could have been a catastrophic event given the actual circumstances, and the training, reflexes, experience, and professionalism of the crew turned it into a relatively benign one.

Those who like to claim that a pilot’s job is easy, airplanes fly themselves, etc. etc., should remember this next time they get on an a plane. If those guys avoided one serious injury or death, they earned their keep for a lifetime.

Way to go guys/gals!

IMO some people forget that while aviation is very safe, it is also very unforgiving. The skill of the flight crews make it look easy and routine day in and day out, when often it is far from routine.

On another note, some airplanes do have cables that run down the nose gear near the wheels. Usually they are associated with the nose wheel steering disconnect system used during pushback. Any damage there could easily render the steering inop.

 

[mweiss]

Right on. It all comes back to the old saw that a good landing is one you walk away from.

 

[EyeInTheSky]

There are owls out at PIT. Driving in from the west ramp into the airport I used to see one very large owl almost daily. Its no longer there since the new construction, so it could have been him! 🙁 Turkeys can fly upwards of sixteen feet off the ground, but they usually are not active in a rainstorm in the middle of the night. I suspect it was an owl. I found some interesting facts on birdstrikes

155 people have died since 1990 as a result of birds hitting airplanes and causing them to crash

$500 million is the cost of bird damage each year

90% of bird airplane collisions involve federally protected bird species.

This was in the NY Daily news today

Geese face doom to clear LGA path

BY LISA L. COLANGELO
DAILY NEWS CITY HALL BUREAU

The geese are cooked - unless they can escape from Rikers Island.
A flock of 500 Canada geese living on Rikers Island is set to be exterminated next week because the birds pose a threat to planes taking off and landing at nearby LaGuardia Airport.

The birds, which weigh close to 10 pounds, have flown into engines, causing massive damage and near catastrophes, according to airport officials.

But animal rights activists are crying foul, saying a mass execution would not solve the problem.

"We are outraged that the city and Port Authority were trying to carry out a secret plan to exterminate Canada geese without first consulting the humane community about a nonlethal alternative," said Gary Kaskel, president of United Action for Animals.

"If they kill the birds this year, it's not going to prevent them from coming back next year," he added.

The geese most likely would be netted and euthanized by wildlife management specialists from the United States Department of Agriculture.

"The Port Authority's first priority is public safety," said Bill Cahill, a PA spokesman. "Since the beginning of 2002, there have been 76 aircraft bird strikes at LaGuardia Airport."

At least eight of those involved Canada geese.

Cahill said nonlethal methods have failed to scare the geese away. They tried using pyrotechnics and even oiled eggs to prevent them from hatching.

But Kaskel said the city Correction Department, which runs the jails on Rikers Island, has refused to try one simple method - letting the grass grow. Geese, it turns out, don't like to nest in tall grass.

"Surely, a few inches of grass is not going to be anywhere an escaped inmate could hide," he said.

Around the country, the federal government has allowed limited shoots to thin out the population. Although shoots have taken place on airport property, they will not be done on Rikers.

"Canada geese are a very dangerous species around aircraft because of their size and flocking behavior," said Richard Dolbeer, National Aviation Safety Coordinator for the USDA.

Originally published on June 16, 2004

 

[skeezer]

"If they kill the birds this year, it's not going to prevent them from coming back next year," he added.

Wanna bet? 😛

Skeezer

 

[mweiss]

I believe the point isn't that it won't keep those exact birds from coming back... 😛

 

[Phoenix]

The report also said that a US spokesperson basically said "Part of the cause was pax inability to use kiosks."

WTF?

indeed we know that Mgt is never at fault, and quick to spread blame to employees.

they are desperate now. they even blame the people who are paying for the flight.

come to think of it, this is nothing new... mgt is very skilled in blaming employees who have been paying mgt to keep their jobs for sometime...

customers, welcome to the club.

 

[Seatacus]

Hey <,./']>
Were you formally known as Prince? 😀

 

[<./']>]

Hey <,./']>Were you formally known as Prince?

NO

 

[Prince of PAWOBs]

Did you mean formerly?

 

[youngblood]

I know a guy who works utility and had to clean the mess from the plane. Word is it was an owl and yes, owls do reside in PIT.