plane down in Hudson

[rm]

A plane carrying 146 people and crew just went down in the Hudson after a failed takeoff. Boats rushed to the scene and are throwing life jackets into the water and rescuing folks from the plane, some of whom were seen standing on the wings waiting for rescue. The plane seems to be intact and reports indicate the landing was well controlled, so hopefully everyone will survive (I suspect the biggest risk is of people freezing to death in the water awaiting rescue).

Anyway, why did the plane go down?

It hit a flock of birds.


This is a real hazard and it happens not infrequently. That said, why hasn't humanity spread out amongst the stars?

Geese.

Fucking geese.

Comments

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

CNN already has a passenger on the phone.

Here's hoping everyone makes it off safely, and that there aren't any injuries.

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

Who knows? It might have been ducks... or swans. Swans are mean.

Anyway, we totes need a War on Water Fowl. Bomb those fuckers right out of existence. It's the only way to be sure. [end weird bitter bush years rant]

Seriously, I hope everyone is OK.

N.

[lordrexfear.livejournal.com]

It'd be funny if it was Seagulls.

They could then also blame Aurora Borealis.

It tried, it tried to fly away, but it just could get away.

(Yes I am horrible)

[imaginarycircus.livejournal.com]

Hypothermia is going to be a serious problem today. It would be a problem if it was 50 degrees.

[maryling.livejournal.com]

My best friend lives directly in front of a pond with a population of at least 200 Canada geese. She's been bitching to me about removing the fuckers from the endangered species list for years. I think she's just found a few more supporters.

[kathrynrose.livejournal.com]

I'm watching it on MSNBC http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/22887506#22887506

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

*shakes head* Let's hope for the best for the poor folks on the plane.

And yeah, despite all the preventive measures, a bird strike is not a walk in the park.

[lawnrrd]

I for one welcome our new anserine overlords.

[tsarina.livejournal.com]

Geese scare me. I still have a scar from one attacking me when I was five.

[ithinkitisayit.livejournal.com]

Wait wait...this two ton hunk of metal hit some birds, and the birds were the ones to cause damage?! NO WAY!!! That's just...hilariously stupid!

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yeah. They get sucked into the engine and because of the velocities involved do enough damage to knock out the engines in question and then plane goes down (or, occassionally, explodes).

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Prayers and good thought for the the passengers and crew.

[ithinkitisayit.livejournal.com]

They're endangered? Seriously? Those birds are everywhere! Endangered my ass!

Those damn birds have the gall to walk across the road and expect me not to hit them! I hate those damn things! They're worse than human pedestrians*, because at least human pedestrians aren't purposely refusing to fly across the place where I want to drive my car.

*NOTE: As a pedestrian myself, I'm not any better. I do try to run out of a car's way as fast as possible when I'm able to, though.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

Eh, a two-ton-weight of plane has at least one critical weak-spot: if we're talking a turbojet engine, the fan blades on the turbine, weighing only a few ounces each, are good with airflow but bad with feathers.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Even a very small bird can down a jet. That's why keeping birds away from airports is a major industry, and a major line of scientific inquiry.

[ithinkitisayit.livejournal.com]

OH! Oh, yeah, that makes sense then. I was picturing the plane hitting the birds in a head on collision. That's why it seemed so hilariously stupid to me. I didn't think about the engines or anything.

Would the plane still have that sort of problem, even with seagulls (you know, assuming the seagulls decided to migrate from one McDonalds to another)?

[argentla.livejournal.com]

Birdstrike is actually pretty serious, particularly for jets. Hitting anything at 400+ knots is bad for your health. Military fast-jet pilots have gotten killed when a bird hit their canopies, and if a bird gets sucked into the engine, turbine failure is not unlikely.

[thunderemerald.livejournal.com]

::tries REALLY HARD not to write Whofic with geese in::

[rm.livejournal.com]

Hey everyone survived, no injuries. You can totally write this. I keep asking myself "man, how badly would Ianto freak out if he were on that flight?"

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Sparrows even.
And hitting a flock of birds, or even one big one, head on is not a good thing to do at high speed. Imagine that the bird is moving at that speed instead of the jet for an idea of how bad it is.
Planes are not supposed to hit things; things are not supposed to hit planes. It's a rule.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

-Thank Goodness!
-Oh, poor Ianto would freak some right bad.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It would be a delight of an H/C premise.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

No apparent fatalities, according to someone at FDNY command in Brooklyn, though it's tricky since the passengers and crew were evacuated to three different piers in two states.

Still, if true, a veritable miracle.

The Fic-Force is strong with this one.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

I didn't even go there, but it's perfect.
*Is gleeful.*

Re: The Fic-Force is strong with this one.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Because I can totally see thsi shit happening, and Ianto calling into the office to sya he's fine and he's driving back now and Jack being like "no, I'm picking you up" and Ianto insisting that it's fine and Jack being like "you're eventualyl going to realize you almost died, and you're going to freak out and I'd prefer you not go into shock while on the highway. Don't you dare get in your car."