See and Avoid - Birds

Jack wrote:
Sorry--a little late am I to this discussion, so I suppose it's been
sorted out by now to everyone's satisfaction. But I'll add this anyway:

Flt 1549 unique? Yes.

But as far as "miraculous" goes, I see no evidence of Divine
intervention. I would agree that a better prepared Captain, and a finer
spokesman, than Sullenberger would be rare indeed.

Bird strikes I've had were mostly a matter of recognition either in
real time or after the fact, and not something that could be
avoided. The target is too small and the speeds too great. And with a
ship full of people we don't start jinking on suspicion.

Bird strikes have been deadly in small, fast, very maneuverable
aircraft as well, so it's also not just a question of maneuverability.

I enjoy flying _with_ the birds in a sailplane, where the speeds
can be nearly matched, and I have a close up view of the real
masters of the sky at work. When I am at work, bird strikes are as
much a roll of the dice as almost anything else that can happen.

And the original poster's Q., "Why didn't he take immediate evasive
action?" is priceless indeed. Anytime I can snap in 4 or 5 g's, I'll
happily do it. Flying an airliner ain't one of those times.


Jack

I have a question...IF this youtube animation of the flightpath is
correct, it shows a couple of turns that appear to have been made away
from the airport of departure. I also noticed there is a runway at 90
degrees to the departure runway at the departure end. Here's a "what
if"...couldn't he have made a 270 degree left turn (from the initial
departure heading) and landed on that cross runway? In the video, it
looks like he might have been able do it. I have no idea what the wind
direction/velocity was that day, so my theory might have made for a
downwind landing, but it would have been on dry land...regardless, he
DID do a good job of putting the ship down and everyone walked away, and
as they say, "Any landing you walk away from is a good one. A great one
is when you can still use the airplane!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZPvVwvX_Nc

Scott