Investigators Find Signs Birdstrike May Have Caused Crash of Flight 587

Wall Street Journal ^ | November 13, 2001 | SCOTT MCCARTNEY

[Axion]

Investigators examining one of the separated engines from American Airlines Flight 587 found foreign debris inside, indicating that the engine may have ingested a flock of birds and then caught on fire.

The engine burned internally, people close to the investigation said. But its parts appeared intact, except for the damage from what is known in aviation as ``foreign object debris,'' or ``FOD.'' That would suggest that the engine didn't suffer a catastrophic failure from some mechanical breakdown, but from sucking in birds, these people said.

[Equality 7-2521]

Upon further research I have found that I was mistaken in that the majority of birdstrikes, while often causing extensive damage, do not destroy the aircraft in question.

However, I have direct knowledge of 2 aircraft (one F/A-18 and one F-14) that suffered enough damage to cause the pilot (both the pilot and gunner in the case of the Tomcat) to eject. And since those are the only two birdstrikes I have direct knowledge of, I made the incorrect assumption that the majority of birdstrikes destroy the aircraft.

[Tennessee_Bob]

Destroyed jet engine due to bird strike. Aircraft on takeoff phase, 50 ft. AGL, 140 knots.

Fort Frances, Ontario (1994). Crash on takeoff resulting from engine damage caused by gulls.

[d14truth]

Flight Control

Flight 587 could have been 'goosed'.

[timestax]

yikes!!

[Travis McGee]

The plane is rolling in a straight line directly at the shooter. There is almost no relative motion, just an engine getting bigger in the scope. Park at the end of a runway with binoculars if you don't believe me.

[Tennessee_Bob]

But they do cause a lot of damage, and in quite a few cases, have caused a loss of airfame and lives. Here's a link to a PDF document on birdstrikes. And a few deer strikes as well..wonder where the moose are?

[contessa machiaveli]

UPDATE! UPDATE! there is now evidence of flying pigs in the vicinity of JFK. stay tuned for more.

[timestax]

yeah, and how about this=Islam is a peaceful religion.

[cookcounty]

Nice photos. But that engine, and that aircraft look in a whole lot better shape than the A300. You got any pictures of a dismembered jumbo from a birdstrike?

[texasbluebell]

Terrorist are just joking, we all know it was a bird!

My husband thinks it was a flock of birds. Says he's always afraid when he sees some right before they take off. He's a pilot at heart only, though has never flown, so he's really up on aviation information.

[gopgirl]

Take a look at this site, seems almost the same kind of crash as the one in question

click here

[Tennessee_Bob]

AWACS lost in Greece from birdstrike on takeoff. One injury, the flight engineer

This is the crash site of another AWACS in Alaska that ingested several geese on takeoff. All personnel on board were killed.

[stands2reason]

Obviously this kind of thing never happens, the government officials must be lying, and we'll never know the real truth. How am I doing? Do I have this down yet?

You forgot,"Move along, there's nothing to see here.."

[PookeyMonkey]

Perhaps it was a coconut strike. It is migration season after all.

[anniegetyourgun]

Ack! You're right. I've failed again. Back to the drawing board....

[cookcounty]

quick review of AA flt 191 crash (1979) at ORD:

In that engine separation crash, the engine broke loose from the pylon but continued to operate for a brief few moments. The engine "ran ahead" of the wing, then swung upward and back over, above the wing, then dropping and bouncing at the very end of the runway. The remaining attachemnts to the pylon wrapped around the wing, slicing through hydraulic systems so that the all control surfaces on that wing were frozen. The plane rolled 90 degrees at it ascended, then crashed across Touhy Avenue into a field, less than 100 yards from a large mobile home park.

[looscannon]

This is precisely the kind of thing that calls for the experts among us freepers to step forward and provide factual or at least educated analysis. In the course of her international investigative work, Hillary's Lovely Legs has been talking to the avian flock (bird brains?) about this crash and should have scooped up quite a bit of information, I would think. Perhaps she will share some of it with us and thereby prevent some here from getting ruffled feathers. Paging Hillary's Lovely Legs...

[wienerdog.com]

Bob, I'm not replying to you directly, and I haven't read past about post 200, but here is my take on it:

If it was terrorists, I hope like hell the government does lie about it.

If people panic over this, the ragheads will be blowing up planes every two weeks from now on!

Let it be birds. This is all idle curiosity. What difference does it make what the government says relative to the truth as long as the terrorists don't achieve their objective!

That's the point. The government can and should lie to the public if it thwarts terrorist acts.

[cookcounty]

That's more like it. You're gaining ground with me.