NTSB -- NTSB ACTING CHAIRMAN PRAISES DOT SECRETARY FOR RELEASE OF BIRD STRIKE DATA, SUGGESTION FOR MANDATORY REPORTING

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NTSB PRESS RELEASE

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National Transportation Safety Board

Washington, DC 20594

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 23, 2009

SB-09-19

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NTSB ACTING CHAIRMAN PRAISES DOT SECRETARY FOR RELEASE

OF BIRD STRIKE DATA, SUGGESTION FOR MANDATORY REPORTING

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National Transportation Safety Board Acting Chairman Mark V.

Rosenker today praised Department of Transportation

Secretary Ray LaHood for his decision to publicly release a

government database on aircraft bird strikes.

The Federal Aviation Administration had proposed a rule that

would have barred from public release reports from pilots of

incidents involving birds striking aircraft. The NTSB filed

an objection to the proposal this week, stating that "public

access to all the data in the FAA Wildlife Strike Database

is critical to the analysis and mitigation of the wildlife

strike problem..."

"I fully support the decision of Secretary LaHood to release

this data to everyone," Acting Chairman Rosenker said. "The

more information is known about the extent of this problem,

the better able regulators and others will be to combat a

phenomenon that brought down an airliner and possibly a

transport-category helicopter earlier this year.

"I was particularly gratified to read the Secretary's

comments in the news media today suggesting he would support

making these reports mandatory. As many may know, in 1999

the NTSB recommended that the FAA require all airplane

operators to report bird strikes; reporting is currently on

a voluntary basis."

The NTSB has announced that a public hearing into the

January ditching of US Airways flight 1549 will be held in

June. The threat of bird strikes to aviation safety is one

of the issues that will be explored at that hearing.

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NTSB Press Contact: Ted Lopatkiewicz

(202) 314-6100

lopatt@xxxxxxxx

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