Flight 1549: Full of Bird Body Parts

Good news is abounding for those folks who are waiting on their luggage from Flight 1549: you might not have to hold out that long. That's because the investigation on why the flight crashed is already underway and in case it wasn't abundantly obvious, there was a bird involved.

According to the National Transportation Safety Board (via Airline Biz):

"The left (#1) engine, which was recovered from the Hudson River on January 23 and subsequently shipped to the manufacturer in Cincinnati where the NTSB is directing a teardown, was found to contain bird remains.

"The organic material found in the right (#2) engine has also been confirmed to be bird remains. The material from both engines has been sent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington where the particular bird species will be identified."

[...]During the accident flight, the flight data recorder revealed no anomalies or malfunctions in either engine up to the point where the captain reported a bird strike, after which there was an uncommanded loss of thrust in both engines.

Well, gee, thanks for the heads up, folks. It's refreshing to know that the obvious problem here -- a bird flying into the engine of a plane -- caused the obvious effect: the plane crashed. It's especially nice to feel the soft touch of security that comes from wasting millions of dollars to find this out. 

On the bright side, we did get to see Flight 1549 towed through town!

Flight 1549 Towed Through New Jersey

Flight 1549 has been all the rage for the past few weeks; understandably, considering it's an airplane that splashed down in the Hudson River.

And it was really put on display yesterday, as it was towed out of NYC and through New Jersey (see above) to it's final resting spot. Which is probably a junk yard while it awaits investigation.

Actually, wait, it is a junk yard. So why doesn't everyone have their luggage back yet, then?

The plane was transported on a huge flatbed trailer after the wings and tail section were removed for transport on another trailer. The operation took place on blocked streets from the marina in Jersey City where it was parked to its final destination, Supor Industries salvage in Harrison. It'll stay there for 18 months for the National Transportation Safety Board investigation. A sight like this ranks pretty high on our "stuff you'd don't see every day" meter.

Indeed. Right up there with "a plane landing safely in the Hudson River."

From the "About Time" Dept: Radar May Check for Flocks of Birds

Remember that whole "Plane takes off," "Goose flies in engine," "engine catches on fire," "Plane lands in Hudson River" sequence that happened two weeks ago? (Answer: of course you do.)

Well, the whole thing could have been avoided by simply having radar to detect flocks of birds. Which someone is working on, apparently.

Federal aviation officials say a handful of U.S. airports will soon begin testing experimental radar systems designed to track flocks of birds.

The new technology can monitor birds as far as six miles away from an airfield. It's being tested at airports in Seattle, Chicago and Dallas.

Oh, wow! That's awesome! Except ... WHY DON'T WE ALREADY HAVE THIS? Seriously, airplane people: you have technological systems that allow planes to land themselves, and yet, you can't figure out when a giant group of birds, flying together (likely south, or possibly north) are headed towards an airplane, which is, by the way, also a giant metal object. Sigh.

And That's Why ... You Don't Carry 110 Pounds of Drugs in Your Luggage

There are countless ways -- so I'm told -- to smuggle drugs into the country. One of those, naturally, is the old standby: using your luggage. The additional "Jackie Brown" (or Rum Punch for Elmore Leonard aficionados) spin on this is simply getting a flight attendant to handle the smuggling for you.

They rarely get checked. Which typically makes this a more viable alternative than filling your shampoo bottle with an illegal substance. But when they do, well, things can get kind of ugly.

A South African Airways crew is free on bail in London after being questioned about drugs that were discovered in bags at Heathrow Airport.

British Revenue and Customs officials say three pilots and 12 flight attendants were taken into custody after 110 pounds of marijuana and eight pounds of cocaine worth more than $220,000 were found in three bags following a flight from Johannesburg to London.

That is, too paraphrase Led Zeppelin, a whole lotta drugs. (Ba-da-da-dump-dump-dump...) OK, but no, seriously, it is. It's like filling your entire travel pillow with chalkdust. That's illegal. Or stuffing your dog with pot and then trying to carry him through security. Or ... you know what? I'm just going to stop while I'm ahead.

In silver lining news, at least these flight attendents weren't on the U.S. Airways flight that landed in the Hudson. They'd be pulling a pretty shoddy profit margin right now.

U.S. Airways Compensates Flight 1549 Passengers, Is Really, Really Sorry About That Whole 'Crash' Thing

The perceived lost for an airline crash -- in terms of per capita, assuming everyone survives, natch -- is probably pretty high when you factor in all the luggage that goes missing. So it stands to reason that U.S. Airways will be reimbursing everyone involved in the Flight 1549 Hudson River fiasco to the full extent.

Or not.

U.S Airways has sent $5,000 checks to each of the 150 passengers on the Charlotte-bound Flight 1549 to compensate them for lost luggage and other belongings.

But hey, at least they got a letter!

In a letter sent to passengers, an airline executive said she was "truly sorry." The letter also explained that passengers' belongings left in the plane could be stuck with investigators for months.

The airline also said it would reimburse passengers for their ticket costs.

Look, not to knock the airline's policy here, but, um, it seems a little short of "fair." When I travel, I'm usually sporting, at minimum, about $4,000 worth of electronic gear. That's not counting all the clothes that I'm bringing on a trip, any souvenirs I purchased or the Honus Wagner rookie baseball cards I don't leave home without*. Or the diamond collection I carry in my luggage at all times*.

But seriously, what about the time spent sitting in the Hudson freaking River? I get that economy stinks, and that everyone lived so we should be happy, but these people won't see their stuff again for a long, long while and, frankly, even if/when it shows up, assuming it's in good condition, I'm willing to be that five grand doesn't cover the bill for most of the people on the flight.

*Just in case this every happens to me, the proof is out there.

US Airways Flight Leaving New York for Charlotte Finds Hudson River

In really horrific sounding news, plane headed for Charlotte from New York crashed into the Hudson River this afternoon. Fortunately, it appears that no one was injured and/or dead.

Flight 1549 left from La Guardia at 3:03 p.m. and was headed to Charlotte when it crashed into the Hudson River.

New York City firefighters are responding to the crash. It was not immediately clear if there were injuries.

Witness Barbara Sambriski, a researcher at The Associated Press, said, "I just thought, 'Why is it so low?' And, splash, it hit the water."

More details as they come, but for now, our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone on Flight 1549 and the families of the passengers.