Researching BASHes, Snarges and Zoonoses

A US Airways jet was forced to land (ditch) in the Hudson River last week following a suspected bird strike. The jet incurred a loss of both turbines. It is suspected that the engine failure was caused by running into a flock of geese at 3200 feet, shortly after takeoff. This is not new news, I know that but it did instill in me a desire to do some research on bird strikes. This is what I found:

***Bird strikes to aircraft, otherwise known as a B.A.S.H. (Bird Aircraft Strike Hazard) are definitely not rare and cause an estimated yearly $400 million in damage in the United States of America alone to $1.2 billion worldwide to commercial aircraft. Think how cheap we could fly if all aircraft (not just the Star Trek ships) had 'shields' to protect from incoming 'torpedoes.'

***The remains of the bird, termed snarge, are sent to identification centers where forensic techniques are used to determine the species. Here are some snarges (worlds worse job-snarge remover):

***Trained personnel have to handle the snarges to ensure proper analysis and to reduce the risk of zoonoses (I'll let you look that one up yourself-but stay away from county fairs from now on).

***The most startling fact is that the Israeli Air Force has a larger than normal bird strike risk as it is in a huge bird migration route in the spring and fall (so they can stop blaming Hamas for the destruction-the secret is out).

Now, if the NTSB can get those engines back from the bottom dwellers, we can get some answers. By the way, did you see how clean that plane was when they pulled it out of the Hudson? Good thing it didn't go down in the ole Muddy.